Education Ministry to meet CHASS over bursary arrears, schools reopening

Information available to Graphic Online indicates the Ministry of Education is making frantic moves to meet with the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) to address issues likely to delay the reopening of schools across the country.

Last week CHASS’ National Executive Council resolved not to reopen schools from January 5, should the government through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service fail to honour all outstanding bursaries and food supplies to the schools. By December 31.

According to CHASS, it expects the government to release the first semester Forms One and Two recurrent (balance) for 2021, the second semester recurrent for Forms One, Two and Three, and Form One perishable for the Second Semester.

CHASS’ resolution was passed at an emergency meeting of the Council held on December 23, 2021 in Kumasi.

Multiple sources at the Ministry of Education however tell Graphic Online that the Minister’s office is hopeful a meeting should hold before the close of this week to resolve the issues.

CHASS had said heads of secondary schools faced a number of challenges "at their Schools in the implementation of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) Government Policy, especially challenges of erratic supply of food to schools  and financial constraints; delays in the release of monies to schools and also the releases that are generally done in bits, affecting the smooth running of the schools."

It proceeded to demand the following as conditions for reopening the schools for the 2021/2022 academic year;

A. First Semester forms one and two recurrent (balance) for 2021.

B. The whole of Second Semester recurrent for forms one, two and three.

C. Form one perishables for Second Semester.

D. fifty percent of form 3 perishables.

E. Teachers Intervention Money.

F. Staff Motivation.

G. Development Levy.

H. Fifty percent examination levy

CHASS also asked the National Food and Buffer Stock to make available "all outstanding food supplies to schools."

CHASS said it will officially inform the GES Management on the 4th January, 2022 and advise parents not to send their wards to schools on the reporting date of January 5, 2022, as Heads will not be able to administer the running of the schools amidst these challenges, and expressed the hope that the issues would be addressed by the end of 2021, to avert any unfortunate happenings.