No SHS will be closed down over arrears and subsidies owed – GES

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has allayed fears of a possible closure of senior high schools in the country over arrears and subsidies owed.

The President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Cecilia Kwakye Coffie at an event of the weekend said the schools risk being closed down if government fails to act immediately.

However in a response, the GES said the outgoing CHASS President’s claims cannot be backed by the facts available to them.

A statement signed by the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Kwesi Opoku Amankwa said as January 2017, the subsidy arrears and funds for the progressively Free SHS Programme to schools in respect of the first and second terms had been settled.

According to the GES, out of the GHC1,002 for boarding students per child per term, government pays a subsidy of GHC 30.8 per child with parents paying the rest. It therefore could not fathom why and how schools risk closure when subsidies were not in.

On the release of Free SHS Funds, GES said CHASS was at all times part of meetings where it was greed that 20% of the funds will be settled upfront and the balance settled once the school heads have submitted the number of students they enrolled and the necessary deductions made.

The statement noted that, out of the 674 public schools, only 56 have submitted their response.

On claims that some CHASS members were quiet over fear of intimidation, the GES said, it doors are opened and have never intimidated any school head nor have intentions of doing so.

On the assertion that the Free SHS programme was affecting payment of fees by second and third year students, the statement said there was no evidence to back the claim, adding that the GES is committed to quality education and was working to ensure that any challenged being faced is resolved.

It further assured that no SHS risks being closed prematurely.

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