The Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed heads of schools who collected unauthorised fees from students and their parents or guardians during the admission process to refund the monies. This directive was issued by the Director-General of the GES, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, at a press conference in Accra on September 29. The GES also warned heads of schools and teachers who demand or collect illegal fees to desist from the practice or face disciplinary action.
According to Prof. Davis, the collection of unauthorised charges from parents in connection with admissions was contrary to the principles on which the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy was established. The Free SHS policy was introduced to remove financial barriers that could prevent children from accessing senior secondary education. The GES Director-General described the development as worrying and stressed that such practices were unacceptable under the Free SHS policy.
Prof. Davis explained that the policy was intended to ensure that financial difficulties did not prevent eligible children from accessing senior high school education. Consequently, he warned that any action by school authorities that undermined this objective would not be tolerated by the GES. The GES's position is that the imposition of unauthorised charges during the admission process could place an additional financial burden on parents and guardians and undermine the objective of removing financial barriers to secondary education.
The warning extends beyond school heads who personally collect unauthorised fees to those who permit others to undertake such collections within their schools. Prof. Davis said individuals found culpable would be dealt with in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the Ghana Education Service. School heads who had already collected unauthorised monies would be required to refund the payments.
The GES Director-General urged parents and guardians who are asked to pay unauthorised fees to report such demands to the GES. He said they could report to GES at the district, metro, municipal, regional, or headquarters. The GES would not allow the actions of a few individuals to undermine the broader objectives and gains of the Free SHS policy, which has expanded access to secondary education for thousands of Ghanaian children.
Prof. Davis made it clear that school heads would also be held responsible if they allowed unauthorised payments to be collected by third parties within school premises. Any head of school that allows such monies to be collected by a third party within the school premises will also be punished severely within the rules and regulations of the service.
The GES has called on school authorities to adhere to the rules governing admissions and the implementation of the Free SHS policy. The Service is committed to ensuring that the Free SHS policy achieves its objectives, and it will take steps to prevent actions that undermine the policy's success.
Key points
- GES orders SHS heads to refund unauthorised fees collected from parents
- Free SHS policy aims to remove financial barriers to senior secondary education
- School heads who collect unauthorised fees face disciplinary action
