According to authorities of some of these private SHSs in the region, the implementation of the Free SHS policy had also put some financial burden on the private schools as parents expect them to reduce their fees, hence the need to lay off some staff to enable them stay in business.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3OxoqX94H4cxQmVryNRmYXLpVH8IAfe2″]Government in September 27, rolled out the Free SHS Policy which absorbed the cost of tuition, feeding, textbooks and utility bills which used to be paid by parents.

That policy, which has come to salvage the plight of parents and guardians, is however a threat to private SHSs.

Speaking to the media in Bolgatanga, Madam Felicia Baa-an, the Accountant of Golden Step SHS in Bolgatanga, said only five students out of 15 who were given admission had reported to the school, as compared to 168 students who were admitted last year.

She said the situation would affect the smooth running of the school, as it could not support all the staff hence the authorities’ decision to lay off some of them.

One of the classrooms of the School which would has been used by the first year students, is now being used to store maize harvested from the school’s farm.

The situation was not different from the Rock Foundation Senior High School, another private SHS in Bolgatanga, where the Director, Bishop Stephen Apuweni, said the school admitted 64 students last academic year, but had so far not taken in any student this year.

Bishop Apuweni said even though the Free SHS policy is laudable, government had failed to consider the private sector during its implementation.

He said the school had to lay off some of its workers as they were no longer needed.

“By laying off workers, we are increasing the unemployment problem which is not the best for the economy”, he said.

The authorities of the two private Senior High Schools, therefore, appealed to the government to reconsider the policy and include the private sector.

–

Source: GNA

The post U/East: Private SHSs to layoff staff over low admissions appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking to Citi News, a Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the government is looking to have “them come to the table with a formal proposal of how they would want to, through their private means, execute this government programme and we would want to engage with them.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”yvElOTkznl1p3ZTEScse0irIWZ7UGga8”]The start of the Free SHS policy has been accompanied by fears from private schools that they could be out of business as their enrollment has dropped significantly because of the attraction of free education.

The Conference of Heads of Private Second Cycle Schools called on the government to expand the coverage of the free SHS policy to include private schools to save them from possible collapse.

The MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, further noted that the government could lessen its burden to provide educational infrastructure if it engages with the private schools.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah admitted that the private schools suffered some collateral damage and assured that the government was working to resolve the challenges, albeit with a focus on the public school system.

“There is no effort to thwart what private people are doing. It is just that, what government is doing, it is focusing on doing it and doing it well.”

“We would encourage the private institutions to dialogue with government and to perhaps present to government ways by which they can also be a channel for the smooth execution of the programme, and we will be willing to engage with them on that front,” he said.

Free SHS optional

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also reminded that, the policy did not make it compulsory to attend public schools.

“There are beneficiaries, who in spite of all that we are doing, may not want to avail themselves to the benefits and instead, may want to go to a private school for one or two reasons. There is no inhibition or so whatsoever for someone who wants to opt out of the programme and pursue a private course.”

–

By: Duke Mensah Opoku/Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Free SHS: Gov’t open to engaging with private schools appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The conference has expressed its disappointment with the effect the policy is having on admissions in private schools, with reports that enrollment of first-years has dropped significantly.

[contextly_sidebar id=”dPMF9hvLR4iTGma3IPY9gqjPF4P66cKb”]Addressing the press in Accra on Wednesday, the National Secretary of CHOPSS, Joseph Dzamesi, conveyed the fears members of the conference losing the investments they had made in the private secondary schools and the possible job losses.

“What is to happen to the millions of Ghana cedis that have been invested into our schools. What is to happen to 10,000 plus Ghanaian workers who are employed in our schools,” he questioned.

A country like Rwanda, which introduced free education in 2003, has seen similar fears manifest with dwindling admissions leading to 30 private schools closing indefinitely in 2017, while others are struggling to stay afloat after losing students to public schools.

The private schools in Rwanda that stayed open were struggling to meet their operational costs because of the sharp decline in enrollment.

With these fears in mind, CHOPSS is asking what the government’s plan is “to provide a platform that gives our [private] schools a realistic chance to thrive.”

Provide option for private schools

Offering their suggestions, they asked the government to, as a matter of urgency, include private SHSs among the schools listed on the self-placement website, which ordinarily has public senior high schools which are covered under the free SHS policy.

“Our schools should be tagged private and the parents should be informed that when a private school is selected, the students would have to pay the school fees,” Mr. Dzamesi stated.

“With this, a student who may not be happy with his or her placement or a student who is not able to find a school that he or she likes may select a private school on the website and go to that private school.”

Explaining how extending the free SHS policy to private schools would work, Mr. Dzamesi said the government could mimic the National Health Insurance system and simply give students the money to cover their secondary education so they could choose between a private or public school.

“We, therefore suggest that the amount of money earmarked per student to attend senior high school be granted to the student, whether he or she attends a public or private senior high school… if a parent needs to add GHc200 to it in order to afford the total fees in a private senior high school then that becomes the option of the parents.”

Mr. Dzamesi underscored the NPP’s belief in the private sector as the engine of growth for the economy, reminding the government that, “across different sectors of the economy, government has partnered with the private sector in the delivery of quality services to Ghanaians.”

–

By: Zoe Abu Baidoo/Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Free SHS threatens our investments, jobs – Private school heads appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Citi News‘ visit to one of the notable private high schools in Kumasi, the Mighty Royal Senior High School, showed that it has received fewer  first-year students for this academic year.

The head teacher of the school, Mohammed Nurudeen, told Citi News that the possible negative effects on private schools were not considered before the implementation of the free SHS policy.

“I am saying this because a government which has promised to revamp the private sector, in the course of rolling this programme, they should have considered the private schools; as in posting some of the students to the private school.”

He suggested further that, “if nothing at all, the government can subsidize the fees or pay and absorb all the fees because they are all Ghanaian children and we are all Ghanaians.”

Mohammed Nurudeen said the situation was “very bad” because “gone are the days where you will see parents trooping in and bringing in their wards to seek admission.”

He noted that in the past, his school normally did not have problems with admission “but as we speak, the numbers that we get this time around we are not getting these numbers because of the free SHS.”

Mohammed Nurudeen thus described the policy “as one of the ways killing the private sector.”

The government has officially launched the free SHS policy which will see about 400,000 students getting enrollment into public senior high schools across the country.

The government will among other things pay for tuition, feeding, school uniforms, library and textbook fees for students.

Concerns from Tamale

These concerns echo that of owners of private high schools in Tamale, which appealed to the government to outsource the Free SHS placement to them to sustain the private schools.

The Proprietor of City Senior High School at Target, Musah Sulemana, on behalf of his colleagues also noted that, their biggest problem “is getting fresh students and we are appealing to the government to address our concerns… schools have reopened and the private senior schools we are not getting students in terms of admissions.”

He expressed fears that private schools may have to fold up.

–

By: Hafiz Tijani/Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Free SHS killing private schools; we’ve no students – Head teacher appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Executive Director of Ghana National Education Campaign (GNEC), Veronica Djiagu, said the move will enable students in such institutions to also benefit from the policy.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, Veronica Djiagu said “those who go to the private secondary schools are those who did not have access to that quality of education so could not make it to the public secondary schools.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”vdrNvXVBZeH4VMSMvhfnI0RwKYVVdJDN”]“The call to extend the policy to cover the private schools is something that should be considered because there are some in there who need the kind of support government is providing now, but because it is private, now they are cut off.”

“For now, the policy is going to be rolled out without the private schools, but I think going forward, some considerations should be given. There could be some criteria to identify students within the private schools who should be supported under the free SHS policy,” she added.

The Ghana Education Service is currently posting students who passed the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) across the country to the various secondary schools.

The exercise is currently facing some hitches following the huge number of students accessing the computerized school placement system.

Veronica Djiagu explained that, unlike basic education where parents enroll their wards in private schools, a lot of people prefer public second cycle institutions because they find it “more attractive.”

“When it comes to the secondary level, the public senior high schools are more attractive than the private ones in terms of facilities, teachers, resources and cost. So it’s the reverse of what happens at the basic level where you find private sector being more attractive than the public sector. So for the secondary level we have more people going to the public secondary schools because the quality there is better than the private schools.”

There are close to 1,000 secondary schools in Ghana.

Of the number, 562 are public, while the 301 are private schools.

Statistics available suggest that, whereas over 740,000 students gain access to public secondary schools, only 1,300 go to the private ones.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Consider extending free SHS policy to private schools – Group appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Private schools in Rwanda face an uncertain future amid dwindling admissions as learners increasingly enroll in public schools.

The post Improved public schools in Rwanda see private academies close down appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They argue that the policy will reduce the demand for enrollment in private Senior High Schools.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JjW9yXUGe2yTTOkhTQ4vC7iZVb5ITBu1″]Government has announced that it will begin processes for the implementation of its free SHS policy this September.

But speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of CHOPSS, Naphtali Kyei Baffour, said the policy when implemented will put them out of business.

“It is an undeniable fact that the private sector is the engine of growth for development. Therefore any policy that seeks to collapse the activities of private sector should be reconsidered. That is why we believe that inasmuch as the [Free SHS] policy is very good as it seeks the well-being and interests of students, parents and Ghanaians as a whole, it is also imperative that as we sit, we look at factors that can help the private ones to be sustained.”

“Private schools sustain their existence from the mop up they get from candidates with aggregate 30 to whatever grade. Now it has been extended to 42 so our question now is; with the introduction of free SHS, we are yet to hear from government if they are going to the old system where the cutoff point will be pegged at 30 or they will still operate with the existing one like aggregate 40, 42. If it still happens like that, then those who did not qualify for admission into public institutions that we relied on, now because it is free and they will still be qualified, it means that come two years, three years, four years, there will be no private school existing.”

While CHOPSS is worried that the introduction of the policy might push private schools out of business, some groups and political parties have expressed concerns over moves to use the Heritage Fund for the implementation of the policy.

But the Minister of Finance , Ken Ofori-Atta, on Friday indicated that, the fund will not be used to implement the policy.

Speaking to Citi Business News after an event organized by Achimota School as part of its 90th anniversary, Mr. Ofori Atta insisted that government will not finance the project from the Heritage Fund, but promised that details for funding it will be provided in the budget.

“We are financing the Free SHS education without looking at the Heritage Fund. As far as I know the Senior Minister did not say we will finance the Free SHS with the Heritage Fund. He alluded at looking at other options for us to be able to finance the Free SHS,” he said.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Free SHS will push us out of business – Private SHS owners appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The strike takes place less than a month before the beginning of the football World Cup, in another hiccup in preparations for the event.

The industrial action affects several World Cup host cities, including Sao Paulo, where the tournament will begin on 12 June, and Rio de Janeiro.

The authorities were quick to play down any risk of major disruption.

Only civil police, who deal with criminal enquiries, are taking strike action.

They area demanding a pay rise of up to 80%.

Military police, who patrol the streets, and federal police, who are in charge of the borders and airports, say they have grievances but are not planning any strike until the end of the World Cup.

“There is no climate for a general [police] strike now in Rio de Janeiro,” said Brazil’s Big Events Secretary Roberto Alzir.

“Even if that was to go ahead, we would be prepared for that,” he added.

Drug-related violence

Brazil’s preparations for the event have been criticised by World Cup organisers, Fifa. All the stadiums should have been ready in December, but some were still being finished earlier this month.

The final match will be played in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium on 13 July.

Earlier the authorities in Rio announced the city’s security plans for the World Cup.

Up to 20,000 people, including military police and soldiers, will be used to guarantee safety in the city during the event.

The announcement follows concerns about the increase in drug-related violence in Rio’s poorest areas in recent months.

Police had launched a much-praised “pacification” plan in the city’s notorious shanty towns, or favelas.

But the deaths of residents in clashes with police in the past month led to protests and calls for the incidents to be fully investigated.

Source: BBC

The post Brazilian Police go on strike ahead of football World Cup appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.