5,000 Jobs to be lost if private schools collapse

The Conference of Heads of Private Second-Cycle Schools (CHOPSS) and the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) have warned that the collapse of private senior high schools (SHSs) will lead to the loss of about 5,000 jobs.

That, he said, was in addition to its related loss of tax revenue for the state, loss of millions of Ghana cedis in invested capital of Ghanaian educational entrepreneurs and the collapse of an important segment of the private sector.

The Public Relations Officer of CHOPPS, Mr Naphtali A. Kyei-Baffour, and the presidents of CHOPSS and GNAPS, Messrs I.K. Mensah and Eric Appiah, explained this to the Daily Graphic.

CHOPPS

The President of CHOPSS said some member schools were bidding farewell to their last batch of students since they had no students in their first and second year, adding that the unfortunate development was a direct result of the manner in which the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy had been implemented.

He said CHOPSS, therefore, wished to continue appealing to the government to reconsider its decision to exclude private SHSs from the free SHS policy.

“ If the current implementation of the free SHS policy continues, over 50 per cent of all private high schools will collapse over the next couple of years, leading to the loss of access to secondary education for many Ghanaian children,” he said.

WASSCE

CHOPSS and GNAPS called on candidates writing this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to desist from any form of malpractice to ensure a smooth examination.

They noted that ensuring an examination devoid of malpractice would result in the credibility of the examination, as well as the continued rise of the standard of education in the country.

The two bodies also used the opportunity to appeal to all relevant stakeholders such as the West African Examination Council (WAEC), supervisors, invigilators, school authorities, the police, as well as anyone who might be involved in the WASSCE to play their roles diligently to ensure a smooth examination.

They, however, encouraged them to be firm on the rules but to be fair to all students, be they from private or public schools.