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The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has called on the government, through the Ministry of Education, to urgently release funds regarding recurrent fee arrears and the carting of food items from regional zonal food centers.
CHASS in a statement, referenced a letter dated September 20, 2024, which reminded the ministry to release outstanding payments for recurrent fees owed to schools since the 2021 academic year.
The statement also called for the refund of monies meant for transporting food items from regional zonal food centres, among other issues.
It noted that while some issues mentioned in that letter were responded to, others remained unattended, notably those highlighted in the preceding paragraph.
However, despite engagements with the National Executives of CHASS, the management of the Ghana Education Service has provided no solutions.
But with renewed energy, CHASS is urging the government to take immediate action to address the matter at hand, as schools have now reached their wit ends, making it extremely difficult to manage the system effectively.
“Debt owed because of the non-payment of the recurrent fees (except exam fees) has put a lot of school Heads in very uncomfortable situations and in some cases, some school creditors are threatening legal actions against the schools. This situation is compounded by the current need to purchase stationery for the ongoing admissions.
Additionally, aside the lack of money, some key food items have not been supplied to schools since the inception of the 2024/2025 academic year. This has made the feeding of students very difficult for School Management and is now even creating some disciplinary problems and uneasy calm on school campuses. This Is a source of great worry to school authorities as our school environments are gradually becoming unsafe to stay and work in,” It highlighted in the statement.
In light of the foregoing, CHASS urges the government to release funds owed to the mentioned schools, both of which are day schools, for the second semester of the 2023/2024 academic year.
Touching further on the arrears, the statement added that “no school received it for 2021 till date, except some payments that were made in that respect for the first semester of 2023/2024 academic year in April 2024. Also, no school has so far received perishable fee for the period October 2024 till date.”
