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GES director general warns CHASS against closure of schools
CHASS has threatened to to close down SHS nationwide for the 2016/2017 academic year if government fails to pay subsidies owed schools across the country.
Mr Jacob Kor
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At a news conference Thursday, Mr Jacob Kor said: "Let me remind all heads of second cycle schools that the authority to re-open and close down any public school is within the mandate of the minister of education. Nobody, except the minister of education, no body can close down a school or reopen."
According to CHASS, it is finding it difficult to manage the SHSs across the country due to the lack of subsidies.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Wednesday July 20, President of CHASS, Cecilia Kwakye Coffie, called on the Minister of Education and the Ghana Education Service to address their concerns immediately.
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"Some of the pressing challenges are unpaid absorbed fees and feeding grants, unpaid Ghana government scholarships, unpaid progressively free scholarship, inadequate feeding fees of GHC 3.30 per student per day for 3 meals, high electricity, water and telephone bills, high expenditure on sanitation and fumigation due to bed bugs infestation in schools, non-payment of GOG grant for administration since 2011, and no replacement of retired teaching and non-teaching staff," she said.
She said that “the absorbed fees for 2nd and 3rd term for 2015/2016 academic year have not been paid. The feeding grants for the three (3) Northern Region schools, Northern Volta and Northern Brong Ahafo are also for 2nd and 3rd term, and this has brought serious problems to schools as students are fed on credit and heads of institutions are being harassed by their creditors”.
“The progressively free scholarship for 2nd and 3rd terms of the 2015/2016 academic year has not been paid. The Ghana government scholarship to beneficiary students has not been paid for the whole year i.e. 2015/2016 academic year”.
“The feeding fee of GHC 3.30 per student per day for 3 meals is woefully inadequate. There is a tax component of 17.5% vat and 3% withholding tax. This has resulted in huge debts in schools. The feeding fee should be increased since price of goods and service have gone up drastically since 2014 when the fees were fixed e.g. the price of gari has shot up from GHC 2.40 to GHC 10.00 per American tin (olonka)," she added.
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READ ALSO: Free SHS Programme
But Mr Kor said the untimely release of feeding grant to second cycle schools is due to the 'lackadaisical attitude' of some school heads in the submission of data.
“The untimely release of subsidies and grants is partly due to the lackadaisical attitudes of some of the heads in terms of the submission of data."
Mr Kor threatened to would query heads of schools who have not submitted the data for processing.
“I have the list of schools that have not submitted data for the data we are processing now. How do we process some and leave others.
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"I will query all those heads who as at now have not submitted the data for the processing of the subsidy.
“If heads have not submitted information that was requested for long ago, and others did so as late as July 14, how do they expect the accounts section to perform magic and just send out the money all of a sudden,” he quizzed.
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