Second cycle schools reopened on the 4th of May, 2017 but students in the three regions of the north would not resume due to government’s indebtedness to the schools.

Meanwhile a total of GHc106, 697,628 has been disbursed by government for the settlement of feeding grants in the affected institutions for academic work to commence.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5m3HNZPx7YhdDXKQ3o8oL8ciheXpDvq5″]The students have stayed home for two weeks without any academic work for no fault of theirs.

They will have to break again for one week in June to enable candidates of the Junior High Schools write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Some of the students who reported to school on Monday in a Citi News interview expressed worry at the time they wasted at home while their counterparts in the southern sector were in school studying.

They were however happy that, government has released their feeding grants.

One student said “I’m happy that we have resume school but the feeding grants issue that delayed us in the house wasn’t the best and I will encourage all my colleagues home to come to school to start academic work.”

Another student Atule Clemencia stated that “we stayed in the house for a very longtime and we have lost a lot because our colleagues in the South started learning long ago meanwhile we write the same examination. So if we don’t learn we end up failing and they think we don’t learn in the house but we don’t get the teachers to teach us in school like those in the South.”

“We have just resumed and we don’t even know when we will organize ourselves for effective classes so it will have limitations on our academic work,” Bawumia Gideon stated.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Public Relations Officer of the GES, Reverend Jonathan Bettey, said processes have been initiated to ensure that the payments are made to the school to avert any interference with the academic work.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sKYFQvKzEWrlM5cibiOeAYDZIgUajJxM”]Citi News gathered that, head teachers of second cycle institutions in the region had instructed students not to return to the school on the scheduled date; Thursday 4th May 2017, because they [the schools] were yet to receive grants from the government to cater for the students’ feeding.

They said the government owed the second cycle schools in the region for three academic terms; the third term of 2015/2016 and the first and second terms of 2016/2017 academic years respectively.

The Upper East Regional Director of Education, Mrs. Jane  Sabina Obeng, who also confirmed government’s indebtedness said her outfit was hopeful that the grant will be released soon to enable the schools to reopen as scheduled.

But according to Rev. Bettey, the Ghana Education Service was now hearing about the problem, but is working with the Ministry of Finance and the Scholarship Secretariat to resolve it.

He said the Ghana Education Service is “reliably informed that it will not be long, these monies will be released to enable these schools to resume.”

In an interview on Eyewitness News, Rev. Bettey said, the sector minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, had been informed about the situation.

“We are aware that schools will resume today, [Thursday], and provision is being made; but the fact is that when schools resume, it is not the first day that the monies are released because it is a process so it goes to the process, hits the bank and then they can cash the money for their various use… The money will be paid as soon as possible.”

While rejecting claims that the Education Service had failed to initiate the payment process early enough to avert any confusion on the school’s academic calendar, he said the process had delayed for reasons that include the change in government.

He assured that the problem with the payment of feeding grants to second cycle institutions which have for several years plagued education in the country will become a thing of the past when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s flagship Free SHS policy begins.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll pay Upper East SHSs feeding grants soon – GES appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The schools, which were to reopen on 5th January 2017 as indicated by the Ghana Education Service, could not reopen on that date, due to the non-payment of feeding grant arrears owed by government to the affected schools in the three regions of the north.

[contextly_sidebar id=”0NxyfZfR1SBKYifpQUvtypiBtbvo2Bhp”]But Upper East Regional Chairperson of CHASS, Mrs. Francisca Yizura, told Citi News government had released feeding grants for the second term in the 2015/2016 academic year, which will be used to cater for the students, whiles they wait for the payments of the remaining arrears for the third term of 2015/2016 and the first term of 2016/2017 academic years.

She said all students are expected to report to their various schools on by the evening of Thursday 12, 2017.

Below is the full statement issued by the Upper East Regional CHASS:

RE-OPENING OF SECOND CYCLE INSTITUTIONS IN THE THREE NORTHERN REGIONS

(UPPER EAST,UPPER WEST AND NORTHERN REGIONS)

We [Conference Of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools(CHASS)]  wish to inform all students, parents and guardians of all senior high schools in the three northern regions that the schools will re-open on Thursday,12th January,2017 for the second term the 2016/2017 academic year.

All students must report to their various schools on thursday,12th January and be present for roll call at 5pm.

Students who owe school fees and PTA must come along with money to settle all their indebtedness.

All final year students must be present to write the mock examination as scheduled.

We entreat all parents and guardians to ensure that their wards report to their various schools on Thursday,12th January 2017 without fail.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Feeding grant: 2nd cycle schools in U/East to re-open Thursday appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Ministry argues that the failure of the Heads to submit the relevant data to the ministry for the payment of the grants is to blame for the accumulation of the arrears.

Government is yet to pay the feeding grant the schools for the last two terms but a Deputy Minister of Education in charge of pre-tertiary education, Alex Kyeremeh told Citi News, the processes before the grants are released demanded that the heads of schools, submit the documentation for payment as soon as possible.

“When the headquarters receive [the documents] from the regions, they have to do the audit to make sure that it conforms to the actual number of students in the school. They have their own way of checking before they send it to the Ministry of Finance before it goes to the auditor general also to do due diligence.”

He admitted that the processes involved for the payment of grants may result in an academic term’s delay however Head teachers’ delay in submitted the necessary files for their payment is to blame for the compounding arrears.

“The problem is not even not at times with Ghana Education Service or the units of finance but as a result of the inaction of some of the heads. They delay so much in sending the inputs to the Ghana Education Service Headquarters. They will agree with me that it is based on their inputs that we will be able to determine they are supposed to pay to the schools,” he said.

The Headmaster of the Tamale Senior High School (TAMASCO) at the school’s 65th Anniversary celebration, lamented “Feeding grants have not been forthcoming and for two terms schools in the three regions of the north have not received feeding grants.”

Shaibu Adams Wilberforce in his capacity as leader of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) thereby made a passionate appeal to government to immediately reimburse the schools management to prevent any temporary closure.

‘Upper East schools yet to receive feeding grant’

Head teachers of some second cycle schools in the region had told Citi News off record that government has not paid any of the feeding grant arrears for the second and third terms of the 2015/2016 academic year.

They said even though they have been asked to re-open schools for the 2016/2017 academic year, it would be difficult to feed the students.

Government’s delay in releasing the feeding grants initially forced the closure of many public schools in the three Northern regions in June.

Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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