We’ll release funds in 10 days – Educ. Ministry to SHSs

Public second-cycle schools across Ghana will receive their funds for the academic year within 10 days, according to the Ministry of Education.

This assurance comes amid growing fear among heads of the institutions that schools will struggle to operate beyond the next two weeks without funding.

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary School (CHASS) said the development could jeopardize academic work as affected schools could be shutdown.

But Public Relations Officer at Ministry of Education, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, said they had to do some paperwork before the money was disbursed.

He, however, noted that the state only owed the schools for the second term.

“For the second term which the students just reopened, for that, I can assure that within the next 10 days, the government is going to release funds to all Senior High Schools so that they will be able to use it for the necessary things”, Mr Assafuah said in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM monitored by DailymailGh.

He was quick to add that teachers could come to special arrangements to deal with their short term struggles.

“The Buffer Stock company has some arrangements with the various headmasters. Normally, what happens is that the headmasters have some gentleman’s agreement with the Buffer Stock company.”

Over 423,000 students were placed in public secondary schools under the 2019 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

This has led to CHASS also raising concerns with the lack of infrastructure at the beginning of the 2019/20 academic year.

It called on the government to resolve infrastructure challenges facing some Senior High Schools in the country ahead of the intake of fresh students later this month.

The increased enrolment because of the introduction of the Free SHS policy has led to some schools converting their staff common rooms and laboratories into make-shift dormitories and classrooms.

Source: DailymailGh.com with additional files from Citinewsroom