Parents Advised To Acquire NHIS Cards For Their Wards

Leadership of the Ashanti Regional Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has asked parents to make available National Health Insurance (NHIS) cards for their wards before enrolling them into Senior High Schools (SHS).

This according to the Association will afford teachers the opportunity to respond quickly to the health needs of students in times of emergencies.

The Association made the call following the incident in 2017 where seven students died at the Kumasi Academy following an outbreak of the H1N1 influenza type A.

Other students in some schools in the Eastern and Northern Region also died from meningitis.

The KUMACA incident raised concerns about the need to have better health systems in Senior High Schools across the country.

As a new academic year begins and fresh students are being admitted into Senior High Schools, some parents are already calling for intensified health screening in schools to avert such unfortunate incidents.

A parent, Linda Aryee Sakyi, called on the Ministry of Education and the Health Ministry to ensure that the health of students is prioritized.

“I love my ward and I wouldn't want him to go through similar situation that happened last year [2017]. So if proper screening can be done, not during the admission time, but maybe a week or two after admission, they can do the screening for the students. You know they are our future leaders, so proper care should be given to them. If the Ministry of Education is one way or the other not doing it, then the Ministry of Health should rise and help us,” she said.

The Ashanti Regional Parent-Teacher Association believes the newly introduced double-track system will reduce congestion in schools which was one of the causes of the spread of diseases.

The Chairman of the Association, Kwabena Amofa-Sarpong, appealed to parents to make health arrangements for their wards before they are enrolled.

“As it happened last year, Kumasi Academy had a problem, but that problem is quite unique. Nobody as at now knows whether the disease emanated from the school or somebody brought it from outside. We are yet to know the source. I will also urge the parents to provide NHIA cards, because if a student is sick, there is no need calling the parents; the teachers can take the initiative by sending him or her to the hospital and every disease can be controlled”, he indicated.

Help PTA to collect its dues
Mr. Amofa-Sarpong also appealed to government to encourage the payment of PTA dues in schools. He said although the government has granted the PTA autonomy, it was still difficult for the Association to collect dues since headmasters have been warned not to sack any student for not paying the PTA dues.

He emphasized that the collection of the PTA dues will go a long way to improve infrastructure and also help government to address some of the infrastructure deficit in schools.

“The government should be flexible enough, and we can perform on behalf of the Association by taking our dues, and it goes straight to putting up certain infrastructure. This will also help to alleviate some of the infrastructure burden that has become an albatross on the neck of the government”, he appealed.

The Ashanti PTA lauded the newly introduced double track system and says it will continue to support government to ensure the implementation of the Free SHS policy is successful.