Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has raised concerns over reports that some heads of public basic schools are demanding parents pay examination or printing fees ahead of end-of-term assessments scheduled for Monday, April 7.
In an official statement, Eduwatch stated that certain school authorities are allegedly threatening to exclude pupils whose parents fail to comply with the payment demand. While the organization supports voluntary parental contributions towards school development, it stressed that such fees must not be mandatory or enforced, especially within the framework of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) policy.
Citing the Pre-Tertiary Education Act 2020 (Act 1049), Eduwatch pointed out that basic education in Ghana is constitutionally guaranteed to be free, compulsory, and universal. The Act also prohibits the exclusion of any child on the grounds of economic hardship.
“As an institution committed to equity, Eduwatch strongly opposes any practices that exclude children from full participation in their right to basic education, including exclusion from school-based assessments due to socio-economic factors,” the statement emphasized.
The group noted that although the government has struggled to disburse assessment funds to schools on time for several years, burdening parents with unofficial fees is not a sustainable solution.
Eduwatch is calling on the Minister for Education to ensure that public basic schools receive the necessary funds on time to conduct assessments without shifting the cost to parents. It also urged the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to prevent the exclusion of any pupil from end-of-term exams due to unpaid fees.
Further, the statement called for disciplinary action against any school head who permits such exclusions.
“The right to basic education is fundamental and unconditional. Its direct funding must therefore remain a non-negotiable obligation of the state,” Eduwatch concluded.
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Story by: Cindy Selasi Humade | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by: Kuuku Osei Baidoo
