{"id":362360,"date":"2017-10-16T16:37:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T16:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=362360"},"modified":"2017-10-16T16:37:25","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T16:37:25","slug":"free-shs-la-presby-students-study-on-cement-blocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/10\/free-shs-la-presby-students-study-on-cement-blocks\/","title":{"rendered":"Free SHS: La Presby students study on cement blocks"},"content":{"rendered":"
The quality and equity aspect of the Free Senior High School policy that was rolled out amid fanfare is being called into question, even in the nation\u2019s capital, Accra, with the dire infrastructure situation students of the La Presbyterian SHS are enduring on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
The school had already made headlines when its headteacher, who was subsequently interdicted<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>by the Ghana Education Service, said first-year students had to pay GHc 80 for desks or risk standing during classes.<\/p>\n The students may not be standing for classes, but a Citi News<\/strong> reporter managed to gain access to the classrooms in the school, and the sight that greeted him resembled conditions one would associate with primary schools-under-trees in some of the most deprived areas of the country.<\/p>\n Some of the\u00a0students were sitting on\u00a0makeshift chairs comprising wooden planks supported by cement blocks. The lucky ones had tables, as others were seen with their books on their thighs and bags on the dusty floor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The students in the school are already contending with studying in uncompleted buildings without marker boards.<\/p>\n The United Nations, in its\u00a0assessment of the progress of Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, dealing with achieving inclusive and equitable quality education for all, noted that equity issues constituted a major challenge in education, and that in all countries with data, children from the richest 20 percent of households achieved greater proficiency in reading at the end of their primary and lower secondary education, than children from the poorest 20 percent of households.<\/p>\n The lack of trained teachers and the poor condition of schools in many parts of the world are jeopardizing prospects for quality education for all, the UN also noted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The La PRESEC school’s headmaster, Samuel Salamat,\u00a0was accused of sabotaging\u00a0the Free SHS policy, and the news of his interdiction was welcomed by some sections of the public.<\/p>\n But his decision to request additional fees was defended by some, with the incoming President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, calling the GES\u2019s sanctioning of some headteachers for allegedly charging illegal fees inconsiderate<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n Mr. Carbonu noted that, the infrastructure constraints in those schools may have forced the sanctioned teachers to make these charges, ultimately in the interest of their students.<\/p>\n In September, aside from Mr. Salaamat, two head teachers were demoted and seven others were interdicted after they were invited for questioning by the GES to respond to allegations that they were requesting fees already absorbed by the government under its free SHS policy.<\/p>\n