Parents remain GES’ key partners

The role of parents in the running of schools, particularly at the pre-tertiary level can never be questioned.

Parents are always available to offer their support to the authorities of schools to enhance learning.

In many schools in the country, parents have done a lot in terms of the provision of infrastructure, including laboratories, dormitories, computers, vehicles in certain cases, and security, while in others, parents supply food items, furniture and even cash to motivate teachers to do more.

Until 2017, when the free SHS programme was instituted, parent-teacher associations (PTAs), with the assistance of school authorities, instituted levies, dues or special fees which formed part of the full bill of the students.

Expectedly, payment of those levies became compulsory and students were sacked from classes or even school when the fees were not paid in full.

There were instances where final-year students were either prevented from writing the examination or denied access to their results until they paid their fees to the last pesewa.

Obviously, this was a headache to many parents, since not all parents had the ability to raise money for such levies.

It was to address all these and other challenges that under the free SHS policy, the government absorbed school fees, including such levies, and parents now have the liberty to come together to raise funds for various activities in the schools of their children.

Since the free SHS started, a number of heads of second cycle institutions had found themselves in trouble for collaborating with executive of PTAs to levy parents using their children and wards as baits.

Since the absorption of the fees was not enough to stop the use of the students from the payment of levies, the Ghana Education Service (GES) developed a guideline for the operations of the PTAs in public pre-tertiary institutions.

As part of the guidelines, the GES has decided that its teachers should not be part of the association, hence the new name, Parents Association (PA). Some parents are particularly happy that the guideline seeks to delink the students from the activities of the association.

The Daily Graphic finds the move commendable since the association is made up of adults and not students.

In all pre-tertiary schools in Ghana, their old students are very active, providing essential support just like the parents, but with no child or student as a point of reference.

A student must not be punished, sanctioned or humiliated because his or her parents could not pay a levy imposed by adults without the consent of the students.

 It is in the light of this that the Daily Graphic believes that the National Council for Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTAs) needs to reconsider its position against the GES.

The PTAs existed and the council was established to tap into them and so, if the managers of the schools - GES - has any reason to alter activities in its schools, that is within its prerogative.

At best, the NCPTAs might also consider altering its name to be in sync with the directives of the GES.

Therefore, for the NCPTAs to confront the GES, asking parent associations to disregard the directives because the GES did not consult it, is a complete misunderstanding on the part of the NCPTAs.

A careful look at the guideline did not indicate anywhere that the GES has changed the name of the NCPTAs because the GES says it does not have any relations or contractual agreement with the council.

 It is a fact that the GES supervises all pre-tertiary schools and anything done in these institutions is of paramount concern to it.

So, on what grounds is the council accusing the GES of not consulting it?

In any case, the understanding of PTA is that it is school specific and remains so with specific needs and not a general one that requires a national body to speak for the individual associations.

Interestingly, the guideline never prevented teachers who have children in specific schools from belonging to the association in those schools.

We would advise the council to find a way to align with the GES and not to go confrontational because it would not be in its interest.

After all, freedom of association is guaranteed in the 1992 Constitution and no parent should be pressured, using an innocent student as a bait, to pay any levy by the association.