Upper East Regional Chairperson of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Francisca Yizura, says the delay in releasing boarding grants to second cycle institutions continues to be the biggest challenge hindering the management of boarding schools in the region and the country at large.
According to CHASS, the grants are in arrears of two terms and failure by the government to release at least, one term’s grants before the resumption of next academic year in September could further worsen the indebtedness of the schools and eventually affect academic calendar.
Speaking at a meeting of members of CHASS with the outgoing Upper East Regional, Rockson Ayine Bukari last Friday, Mrs. Yizura, said the implementation of Free Senior High School Policy was timely as many more that would have been out of school have been given the opportunity to continue. However, the overwhelming number of students makes it difficult to make manage with the delay in releasing boarding grants.
She said: “It [boarding grants] is in arrears of two terms. And you know that is what has helped us to implement the free SHS. You know the new system, the food items and the money for ingredients were not released early. But you know, if you have your children, you don’t discriminate; so, we used that to manage for the free SHS.
“We are just on our knees begging if they [government] even release one term. As for us, we are able to manage debts. Our counterparts down south normally ask us, ‘How are you able to manage?’ But we are able to manage. We are saying that if you release one term for us, we won’t have problems. We’ll be able to reopen and, then, manage until a time that everything settles down.”
CHASS also cited inadequate classroom and dining hall furniture as well as bunk beds. “You know the wood is not good. Every year, they get broken, we repair and they break down.” She stressed.
Other challenges the conference lamented over included lack of nonteaching staff including kitchen and security officers, uncompleted structures on almost all campuses of SHSs in the region such as classrooms and dormitory blocks, lack of school buses or broken down buses.
Mr. Bukari who assured CHASS of government’s commitment to financing and resourcing all public academic institutions, disclosed that from records available to him, the previous NDC administration ordered and paid for furniture for schools in the region but same was not delivered.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1FM|William Nlanjerbor JALULAH
