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The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has urged the Ministry of Education to consider banning the Parents Association (PA) scheme in Senior High Schools if it is seen as undermining the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy.
This call follows the suspension of the headteachers of Ahantaman Senior High School and St. Roses Senior High School, Akwatia, by the Ghana Education Service (GES) after they were accused of collecting unauthorized fees.
NAGRAT, however, argues that these fees were initiated by the Parents Association and not by the school authorities, making the GES’s decision to sanction the headteachers unjust.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, October 2, NAGRAT President Angel Carbonu demanded that the suspended headteachers be reinstated immediately.
“With the coming in of the Free Senior High School, this role of the PTAs was abandoned. And what we have in the school is PA, that is, Parents Association without the teachers,” Carbonu explained.
He further clarified, “In the case in question, the PA among themselves, agreed on an amount of money to contribute for a purpose. If the ministry feels that the presence of the PAs is negatively affecting the smooth running of schools within the context of a free senior high school, the ministry can ban the formation of PAs outrightly.”
NAGRAT believes that if the Parents Association is seen as a threat to the FSHS policy, it is better to remove it entirely rather than penalize school authorities for decisions made by the PA.