The amount was released to the Registrar of Scholarships for payment of feeding grants for second cycle schools in respect of the 3rd term feeding grant for 137,300 students for the 2015-2016 academic year, and also for 140,264 students for the first term of 2016/2017 academic year.

[contextly_sidebar id=”nv8teG0P7rbOC2FuYbAb0seIfmzIHsAC”]At the beginning of 2017, scholarship payments in respect of the 3rd term of 2015/2016, the first term of 2016/2017, and the expected payment for the second term of 2016/2017, all amounting to a total of GHC184,851,616.60 were outstanding.

The Ministry of Education is processing the remaining claims for the second and third terms of the 2016/2017 academic year.

Second cycle schools in the Upper East Region were scheduled to reopen on 4th May 3017 but were temporarily shutdown due to the perennial problem of unpaid feeding grants.

Below is CHASS full statement:

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

We wish to inform all students, parents and guardians of all Senior High Schools and Technical Institutes in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions that the Schools will re-open on Monday,22nd May 2017 for the third term of the 2016/2017 academic year.

All students must report to their various schools and be present for roll call at 5pm.

All students who still owe school and PTA fees must come along with the money to settle their indebtedness.

We entreat all parents’ and guardians to ensure that their wards report to their various schools on Monday, 22nd May,2017 without fail.

BY: CHASS UPPER EAST REGION

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post UER SHSs to reopen on May 22 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Continuing students are to stay home until further notice, whereas their counterparts in southern Ghana have resumed their course work.

[contextly_sidebar id=”PnsFg1xf8e1p3F7eLIYDsDOqYmzBSXoV”]Heads of the affected schools have vowed never to reopen up until government defrays the accumulated debt. Early this year, the schools were temporarily shut down over the perennial problem of unpaid Feeding Grants.

Food suppliers have withdrawn their services accusing the schools authorities of not being credit worthy. The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), decried the situation and called for government’s prompt action.

The CHASS leadership maintained that they could no longer fend for the students’ well-being on credit.

The perennial situation has always distorted the academic calendar of second cycle institutions in the three regions of the north.

We’ll pay Upper East SHSs feeding grants soon – GES 

Second Cycle Institutions in the Upper East Region that are yet to receive their feeding grants from the government will do so soon, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has said.

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

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Northern SHSs reopening in limbo over feeding grant arrears appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The headmasters of some schools in the north have threatened to close down the schools and send students home due to the non-payment of feeding grants by government for students.

The Ghana Education Service said it has paid part of the grant owed the assisted schools but cannot immediately say when the remaining arrears will be paid.

Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations officer of GES, Rev Jonathan Bettey urged the headmasters not to close down the schools.

“The first term payment has been made, the movement of GES is calling on school authorities to resume for academic work. We are aware government owes the schools but as I talk to you, negotiations are still ongoing to make sure that the remaining monies are paid but as to when the money will be paid, I cannot release that to the public now,” he said.

“A new government has just taken over administration and the ministry of education is yet to welcome the new Minister and a lot of things are to be put in place before the normalcy of a number of things so we are of the view that with one term being paid to the school authorities, school can resume so they use this one for the time being whiles negotiations, the rest of the money will be paid,” he added.

Second cycle institutions in the three regions of the north, have been temporarily shut down due to the perennial problem of unpaid feeding grants for three consecutive terms. The students were scheduled to resume their course work on January 5, 2017, following the Christmas break. But school heads have asked them to stay home indefinitely over the non-payment of the feeding grants.

Some of the affected students in a Citi News interview decried the situation and called for a permanent solution.

They accused government of being insensitive to the plight of students of second cycle institutions in the three regions of the north.

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), earlier served notice of postponing reopening if government failed to defray the accumulated debt.

According to the leadership of CHASS, they can no longer feed for the students’ on credit.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post We’ve made part payment of feeding grants – GES appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The ministry’s announcement contradicts claims by some members of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG), that it has not received its feeding grants from government for the past three semesters.

The group attempted to picket at the offices of the Education Ministry and the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Wednesday, to demand the payment of the feeding grants, but were stopped by the Police.

According to a press statement released by the Ministry of Education and signed by the Head of Public Relations, Dan Osman Mwin, the amount released covered arrears for the second semester of the 2014/15 academic year, as well as the first half of the second semesters of the 2015/16 academic year.

The statement said, the Ministry had noted that a request for the outstanding half of the feeding grant for second semester of the 2015/26 academic year, has been made to the Ministry of Finance.

TTAG in an earlier statement copied to citifmonline.com said, “we would like to state our displeasure at the outgoing government for their gross display of negligence and neglect towards the fate of colleges of education and newly trained teachers across the country… the Government of Ghana over the years has treated teacher trainees so poorly and has refused to pay feeding grants to students after the scrapping of the teacher trainees’ allowances and several unfulfilled promises even by top officials like the President and the Vice president.”

Earlier this year, the government scrapped allowances of teacher and nursing trainees, and promised to pay them feeding grants. But according to the President of the Trainee Teachers Association, Ekow Paintsil Djan, the government has not fulfilled the promise.

He told Citi News, “They are owing us for about 3 semesters. For the current first years government owes that GH¢550. For the current level 200, the government owes than GH¢1,200 and those in level 300 government owes them Gh¢1,200 and those that have been posted, government owes them GH¢550.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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