Pay us our arrears or we won't reopen January 5 - CHASS to government

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has threatened not to reopen schools on the scheduled date of January 5, 2022, if the government fails to pay all outstanding arrears and supply food to the schools.

The decision was contained in a resolution made by the National Executive Council of CHASS at an emergency meeting held in Kumasi on December 23, 2021.

The meeting was to discuss what appears to be chronic challenges facing secondary schools in the country as a result of the implementation of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) government Policy.

The council established erratic supply of food to schools and financial constraints, delays in the release of monies to schools and also the releases that are generally done in bits as major challenges making it extremely difficult for effective management of the schools which are having a serious effect on quality education.

The National Executives Council of CHASS, therefore, made a resolution that if, by the 31st December 2021, the Ghana Education Service (GES) by extension government fails to release the full complement of the outstanding monies and food supplies to schools which include: the first Semester forms one and two recurrent (balance) for 2021, the whole of Second Semester recurrent for forms one, two and three and Form one perishable for Second Semester, schools will not be opened for the 2021/2022 academic year to begin.

CHASS is also demanding the release of fifty per cent of form 3 perishables, Teachers' intervention money, staff motivation, development levy and fifty per cent examination levy.

The Conference also passed a resolution that National Food and Buffer Stock should make available all outstanding food supplies to schools.

“Chass will officially inform the GES Management on the 4th January 2022 and advise parents not to send their wards to schools on the reporting date of January 5, 2022, as Heads will not be able to administer the running of the schools amidst these challenges.
We pray and hope that the issues enumerated above would be addressed by the end of this year, to avert any unfortunate happenings” portions of the resolution sighted by Starr FM read.

There have been calls by civil society organizations and other stakeholders for government to review the Free SHS policy four years after implementation to address the financial and food supply challenges facing the policy.

The Public Interest and Accountability, PIAC, has for instance urged the government to find an alternate funding source for the police rather than over-relying on Petroleum revenue.