CHASS WORRIED OVER DELAYS IN RELEASE OF SUBSIDIES (Spread)

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale

THE recurrent delays in the payment of government subsidies to schools and its resultant impact on teaching and learning dominated discussions at the ongoing 45th Annual Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in Tamale.
According to the conference, the situation which is getting worse by the year, is also affecting the smooth administration of the schools.
The outgoing President of CHASS, Mr Bolina Saaka, disclosed that "though 45 per cent of the subsidy for the third term of the last academic year is still outstanding, we are nearing the end of the first term of this academic year - a term we began the implementation of the new education reforms, yet no subsidy has been paid".
"This has never happened," Mr Saaka said, adding that boarding schools in the three northern regions were also yet to be paid their full boarding grants for the term.
"This state of affairs is certainly stressful. We, therefore, appeal to our employers to take urgent action to remedy the situation," he stated.
The week-long conference is on the theme, "Education in Ghana beyond 50 - the ICT Factor." It is scheduled to end at the weekend with the election of a new executive.
Mr Saaka called for mutual trust between members and their employers, explaining that "sometimes we are surprised by what they say about us, by what they think about us and sometimes by the directives they give us".
He mentioned the issues of admissions and transfers as some of the areas that their employers would need to demonstrate their confidence in.
For instance, the president said that this year, they were promised that there would be no problems in the computerised placement system, but he noted that most classrooms outside the urban areas were still empty.
"Instead of heads of schools being asked to declare vacancies, is it not possible to ask them to compile lists of candidates from their localities who come to them and send such a list to the CSSPS in Accra?” He asked.
On transfers, Mr Saaka said they had also been asked not to make any transfers in their schools, and that it was only the director of secondary education who should now give approvals.
"What this means is that, if you reside in Navrongo and you want to transfer your ward from Navrongo Senior High School to Bolga SHS, the two heads cannot sort it out between them. The parent will either have to trek to Accra to the office of the director or send the application by post to Accra", he explained.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah, charged members of CHASS to ensure the sustainability of the new education reform.
She also urged them to focus on managerial discipline, efficiency and accountability at their respective schools.
"There is the need for increased enforcement of effective teaching and learning by discouraging teacher absenteeism, lateness and misuse or insufficient use of instructional time," the minister stated.
She further expressed concern over the indulgence of students in such negative practices as occultism, drunkenness, smoking and indecent dressing, and entreated both parents and teachers to complement each other's efforts in stemming the tide.