Use of classrooms for church service: STMA investigates claims of rent payment
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly has begun investigations into allegations that some heads of public basic schools rented the classrooms to churches.
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Both the Ghana Education Service and the assembly had not been informed or notified by the heads of the schools about the development.
Churches that hold services in the classrooms of public basic schools have been given a January 1, 2015 deadline, by the assembly to move from the classrooms since their continuous use of the facilities was a drain on government resources and threat to school property.
Illegal rent advance
Some operators of the affected churches indicated that certain school heads did not only collect monthly rent but also charged two to three years’ rent advance for the use of the facility.
The Pastor of Zion Evangelistic Church at Kwesimintsim, Rev. Norris Chris Ayensu, alleged that, “we pay rent of GH¢10 and above a month and some of the churches pay two to three years’ advance to the school heads.”
He said apart from the record books of the churches that indicated the payments, there was no receipt indicating how much each church paid.
According to Rev. Ayensu, with affirmation from other pastors, beside the rent paid to school heads, the churches also contributed to projects initiated by the schools.
“I must say contributions to such developments are compulsory and the church cannot negotiate”, he added.
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He contended that since the rent advance of some of the churches were not used up, those churches must be allowed to continue holding services in the classrooms to offset the rent advance.
Classroom churches association
Rev. Charles Mensah of the Zion City Chapel, who is also the president of the Classroom Churches Association, said since members had nowhere to go, “we will be meeting with the authorities of the assembly to put before them our ‘plea’ to extend the eviction time for us”.
When the Daily Graphic visited some of the schools, the heads refused to talk, while some of the teachers said their heads had travelled out of town.
But the Head of Public Relations of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr John Laste, said the schools were not to be rented to churches.
“Let me tell those who have paid rent advance to the school heads to go to them and ask for refund and that none of the schools has the right or the authorisation to commercialise the facilities built by the assembly for the Ghana Education Service,” he said.
2007 Directive
Mr Laste said the issue to halt the use of the classrooms by churches was a known directive and that it was wrong for the churches to come up with the argument that they were not informed.
He called on the churches to respect an agreement that was reached between them and the assembly in 2007.
When contacted, the Metro Director of Education, Mr F.K. Dzigbede, said the education directorate would not condone the resolve of the churches to turn classrooms into worship centres.