Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is urging the Ghana Education Service (GES) to review the dismissal of school heads during the current school resumption period. Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Musah, conveyed this recommendation in an interview with the media.
He emphasized that the outright dismissal of head teachers for seemingly minor reasons poses a challenge. Instead, he suggested exploring alternative sanctions, as these leaders are essential for effective school management and engagement.
“We have the SHS [form] ones in school who have reported. They will certainly need these teachers to give some kind of guidelines in directive as well. The management of the school and other related matters should be done. And if at the beginning of the first semester we have all these challenges, it can have a significant amount of effect and impact on what happens or what should happen in the school.”
The school heads in question, who were 7 headteachers of SHS within the Ashanti Region, were recently dismissed from their positions for allegedly collecting and charging unauthorized fees and prospectus for incoming SHS freshers. SHS headteachers across the country had been directed to avoid the collection of monies from students and their parents in relations to their academic needs as part of the Free SHS policy; the policy requires that all students in public SHS attend their secondary education free of charge. The students are also entitled to free school materials such as uniforms and books, which will be provided by the government.
The request from GNAT is just one of the many addressed to the GES to review the dismissal of the school heads, with many stakeholders across the country backing the call. In addition, headteachers have also been raising concerns over the inadequacy of resources in the running of schools due to the policy; in light of the matter, various stakeholders have also been calling for either the abolishment of the Free SHS policy or the review of the ability of school administrations to be able to collect some amount of monies for certain services in the schools.
Meanwhile, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) had also earlier advised headteachers in senior high schools (SHS) across the country to avoid charging unapproved fees despite legitimate reasons they may have for doing so. CHASS advised headteachers to stick to the rules given by the GES and desist from charging unauthorized fees, emphasizing the need to seek clearance approval from regional authorities.
It was also established that GES would wait on the final verdict from the investigation committee before proceeding with necessary actions.
