The Education
Ministry has said Senior High Schools
will receive their funds for the academic year within 10 days.
This assurance by the Education Ministry is in response to
complaints from the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary School (CHASS)
that schools will struggle to operate beyond the next two weeks without funding.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Ministry of Education Public
Relations Officer, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, there was some paperwork pending
before money was disbursed.
He, however, noted that the state only owed the schools for
the second term.
“For the second term which the students just reopened, for
that, I can assure that within the next 10 days, the government is going to
release funds to all senior high schools so that they will be able to use it
for the necessary things.”
In the meantime, he said teachers could come to special
arrangements to deal with their short term struggles.
“The Buffer Stock company has some arrangements with the
various headmasters. Normally, what happens is that the headmasters have some
gentleman’s agreement with the buffer stock company as to how the absence of
buffer stock supply [is dealt with].”
Over 423,000 students were placed in public secondary schools
under the 2019 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
This has led to CHASS also raising concerns with the lack of
infrastructure at the beginning of the 2019/20 academic year.
It called on the government to resolve infrastructure
challenges facing some Senior High Schools in the country ahead of the intake
of fresh students later this month.
The increased enrolment because of the introduction of the Free
SHS policy has led to some schools converting their staff common rooms and
laboratories into make-shift dormitories and classrooms.
