Forthwith, some parents and guardians of some selected schools within the Upper East Region would be expected to pay PTA dues, an arrangement that seemingly stopped with the advent of the government’s flagship education programme; Free Senior High School.
The decision to take PTA fees is however left, solely, with the various Parent Associations and not management of the individual schools, CHASS has said.
Richard Akumbasi, the Upper East Regional President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools made these comments when he spoke to Mark Smith today, on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show.
“Those are purely PTA matters. The school management isn’t involved. If you see any school taking PTA, it means that it is the school that has decided by themselves. They are the people doing the collection. No school management is supposed to collect any PTA levy.”
“PTA [fees] are purely by the parents. Maybe you may see some people write it on a small sheet of paper or something and attach it but it is not part of the prospectus. The prospectus we know are those that are in the letter heads of the schools and signed by the heads. If you see any prospectus signed by a headmaster or headmistress, it means that it is the unified prospectus. I don’t expect to see anything different from what we agreed,” he said.
Meanwhile, new students reporting to second cycle institutions under the government’s Free SHS policy in the Upper East Region are expected to report along with torchlights, lightbulbs, boxes of temporary makers, rims of A4 sheets among others, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools has confirmed to A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show today, Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
In prospectuses cited by this website, students were expected to purchase their own uniforms when in the past, the government insisted that the cost of uniforms be absorbed under the Free Senior High School policy.
Additionally, students are expected to purchase a box of whiteboard markers each, a rim of A4 sheets, energy-saving bulbs, a litre of PowerZone and powdered soap each, torch lights, and two batteries.
When contacted, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) explained that these additions have been made to allow the schools systems run effectively. While there is a general list of items students would have to procure, some peculiar items would have to be added to lists of schools in the Upper East Region for specific reasons.
Richard Akumbasi, the Upper East Regional President of the Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) said, “You know there is a general basic requirement and there are some that are school specific. [There are] some schools that may need some specific items, peculiar to them. For example, if it is a mission school and they are demanding a Bible, you will understand that because of the peculiarity of that school, you would definitely need a Bible. We have a common prospectus that runs through the entire schools [in the region]. This was discussed and sent to the Director-General for approval. All the heads have been schooled on that. We have told every head not to stray from what has been generally agreed upon.”
“Recently we had some challenges with one or two items and I am sure that in due course, we would come to a conclusion. As far as the Upper East Region is concerned, we agreed and sent it to the Director-General,” he said.
While these issues have been added to the prospectus of some schools, they remain a contentious issue among heads of schools.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
