The Greater Accra chapter of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has issued an ultimatum to the government to release the required funds for perishables and pay the arrears for same.
Information gathered by Mypublisher24.com indicates should the government fail to release the funds, SHS 1 students will have to remain home while SHS 2 students currently on campus will be sent home.
The mounting challenge in secondary schools across the country has raised more questions among Ghanaians in view of the fact that Parliament approved an amount of GH¢2.2 billion to fund SHS for 2022 and yet the schools are on the brink of closing down because of these challenges.
The Northern Region chapter of CHASS in a letter dated Monday 15th August 2022 and addressed to the Ghana Education Service lamented how no money has been paid for eleven weeks of the second semester done so far apart from the fact that payment of the first semester of 2021/2022 is still in arrears.
“Suppliers who give us credit for perishable items like eggs and meat are not ready to continue with the supply owing to the amounts of indebtedness.”
“On the foregoing, we wish to state that if we do not get immediate releases the SHS 1 students of the single-track schools who would be due to return to school on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 would not report until we get money.”
“This also includes those in the transitional schools who are also billed to report on September 4, 2022. Heads of schools in the Region would be compelled to send the SHS 2 students who are in their second semester home,” part of the letter read.
It entreated management to also pay the recurrent expenditure of the schools that have been in arrears since last year and stressed nonpayment of this component of the money is affecting the smooth running of schools in issues such as maintenance and repairs, field trips and practical lessons in laboratories among others.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Dr. Clement Apaak, has indicated that the situation is the same across the country and similar SOS letters from other local chapters of CHASS are bound to pop up.
Find a copy of the Northern Region CHASS letter below:
