Less than 500 private schools benefited from stimulus package

It has been revealed that less than 500 private schools under the Ghana National Council of Private Schools benefited from the government’s stimulus package which was disbursed by the National Board for Small Scale Industries, (NBSSI).

In March 2020 when COVID-19 hit businesses, many schools particularly privately-owned were among the hardest hit, according to analysts.

As a result, a number of these schools were forced to shut down.

Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools, Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah has said that less than 500 out of the 22,000 of its members could only access the NBSSI package.

Speaking on the 3FM Sunrise Morning Show with Alfred Ocansey, Mr. Gyetuah said “Schools that have confirmed that they got some money ranging from GHC 1 to GHC19,000 are not up to 500”.

"There are currently about 36,000 private schools in Ghana and so far the Council of private schools says 126 have closed down whiles there are fears that 20 percent representing about 4,400 members belonging to the Council may not come back."

"The reason is attributed to the huge loans they owe the banks and the owner's inability to pay the teachers. The situation is said to have forced some of them to convert their schools into apartments."

Mr. Gyetuah added, “Private schools have decided that those they want to go on and run the school they can run it, those they feel that they don’t have any upper support to run the school, they should close down the school because there is a law that should strengthen the relationship between the private schools and government but that is not working”.

"Meanwhile, an estimated 37,800 students of these private schools may not come back to their original schools and Mr. Gyetuah explains what is done under the circumstance “When you inform the District Assembly that you want to close down the school they then find a sister school that can accommodate the children and the parents are supposed to sign to that consent that they want their children to attend that school. Looking at the circumstances we find ourselves we are insolvent and nobody is coming out to assist”.