Dr. Eric Nkansah, GES Director- General
THE GHANA Education Service (GES) has directed all its regional directors as well as municipal and district directors to ensure that no school heads at any levels of pre-tertiary education charge any illegal fees from pupils, students or their parents.
This was contained in a letter dated February 7, 2023, and copied to all regional directors of the GES, headlined “All Regional Directors Of Education, Alleged Collection of Unapproved Levies By Some Heads Of Public Schools.”
“The attention of the management of the Ghana Education Service has been drawn to the alleged collection of unapproved fees or levies by some heads of schools and Parent Associations. This act is in violation of the directive governing the collection of levies at all school levels,” it stated.
It continued, “Management, therefore, wishes to inform all regional directors of education to bring to attention of all metro, municipal and district directors to inform heads of public schools who are into that act, to as a matter of urgency, desist from it. Additionally, metro, municipal, district directors of education are to investigate such alleged collection of unapproved levies in schools and inform management accordingly.”
The letter, signed by Prince Charles Agyemang-Duah, Director, Schools and Instruction Division and copied to the Director General, GES Headquarters, Accra, among others, said school heads who did not abide by this directive would be sanctioned.
Meanwhile, the GES headquarters has also directed the Sunyani Municipal Education Directorate to set up a disciplinary committee to sanction some school heads who were alleged to have charged admission and school fees from pupils and students.
Consequently, a three-member committee comprising the Basic Education Director, the Public Relations Officer of the Sunyani Municipal Education Directorate and the Community Participation Coordinator was constituted to investigate the alleged collection of fees and submit a report and give recommendation.
The committee has since submitted its report to the GES headquarters with a further directive issued to set up a disciplinary committee to sanction the school head.
This was confirmed by the Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Mark Godfred Domah, when this paper contacted the directorate on the outcome of the investigation.
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani