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18.02.2017 Education

Regulate Pta Activities To Enhance Free Shs In Ghana.

By CHARLES OWUSU
MR. CHARLES OWUSU, PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR.LIDO USAMR. CHARLES OWUSU, PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR. LIDO USA
18.02.2017 LISTEN

THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION AND SUCCESS OF GHANA’S FREE SHS PROGRAMME, no matter the source of funding, will depend immensely on the level of control that G.E.S. brings to bear on Parent Teacher Associations and Heads of SHS Institutions to prevent its complete leverage.

Stemming from observations during several visits to Ghanaian SHSs by representatives of Leadership and Integrated Development Organisation – LIDO USA, It is believed that the good intentions and benefits of free SHS for parents could be leveraged by Head masters and Principals who team up with P.T.A executives to cash in on parents in the name of school development projects in not prohibited.

Discussing prospects of Ghana’s proposed free SHS with some participants of Global Brigades at Waltham,MA., Mr Charles Owusu, asserted that Ghanaian parents lament over hefty demands by P.T.A.s for the construction of classroom blocks, dormitories, boreholes, power generators, school buses, sports complex, and in some cases, gratuity for retiring head masters and G.E.S. personnel to say the least.

He referenced as per http://3news.com/free-shs-starts-this-year-with-free-meals-admission-utility-etc-prez-declares/ that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Saturday, February 11, 2017, assured that his government will fund the cost of public Senior High Schools from the 2017/2018 academic year onwards. He made this known when he delivered a speech at the 60th Anniversary celebration of Okuapeman School. Further, he clarified what he means by free SHS “by free SHS, we mean that, in addition to tuition which is already free, there will be no admission fees, no library fees, no science centre fees, no computer lab fees, no examination fees, no utility fees; there will be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals, and day students will get a meal at school for free.”

As a poverty reduction and community improvement activist, Mr. Owusu opined that LIDO USA share Nana Addo’s believe that a society that aims to transform itself into a modern, productive player in the global market needs an educated workforce, and therefore LIDO USA is ready to pave the way for an enviable educational programme that will bring direct benefit to struggling parents and families, while ensuring a better quality workforce for the rapidly changing world.

Signed; Charles Owusu,
Programmes Director,
LIDO USA

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