GES warns heads over illegal fees

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned that it will sanction heads of public basic schools who are thwarting the government's efforts at maintaining fee-free education at the basic educational level.

According to the GES, it had come to its notice that some unscrupulous heads had been charging unauthorised school fees from pupils when there was fee-free education under the Capitation Grant policy.

"If, after investigations, it is found that a headteacher has collected unauthorised fees or levies, we will sanction that person," the Director of the Basic Education Division of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu, told the Daily Graphic yesterday.

The action of such heads, he said, amounted to sabotaging the efforts of the government at providing free basic education, adding that any headteacher found to have collected authorised fees would be dealt with.

The government abolished the payment of all levies with the introduction of the grant, under which it pays GH¢3 per pupil in every public basic school.

The sanction, Mr Adu said, would range from demotion and transfer to outright dismissal.

A directive from the GES said whereas parent, teacher associations (PTAs) could agree among themselves to levy parents and guardians in order to undertake development projects in public basic schools upon receipt of approval from the service, "pupils cannot, be sacked from school for the non-payment of such levies by parents and guardians".

That, it said, was because it would undermine the government's policy of Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education and defeat the purpose for the introduction of the Capitation Grant.

"Parents/Guardians are, therefore, advised to report any unapproved fees charged and any unlawful sacking of their children/wards from public basic schools anywhere in Ghana to the district or regional directors of education or to the GES Public Relations Unit for immediate action," the directive said.