The Ghana Education Service, GES, has refuted claims by the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools, CHASS, that government subsidies are in arrears for three terms.
A statement from the GES said CHASS and the Ministry of Education agreed on a payment plan, which has been adhered. It continued that for instance under the free SHS policy, each school was given 20 percent of funds to be received based on the numbers they enrolled. This amount was to go into the purchase of perishable food items to feed the students.
It saidthe directive from the GES was for the schools to utilize the funds, submit the account of expenses for the remainder to be settled. The Minister and Service are therefore surprised that the heads of schools are complaining funds have not been released when the process is on-going.
President of CHASS, Cecilia Kwakye Cofie, over the weekend demanded as a matter of urgency the release of subsidies which have been in arrears for three terms, saying the schools are in dire financial distress and the availability of the funds is critical for them to remain open.
But the GES statement, signed by the Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, the Director-General, maintained the subsidy arrears have been paid, CHASS, therefore, has no basis to claims the schools could shut down soon if they don't receive the funds.
The statement advised that schools which had not yet received their subsidies to submit their data to the GES office in order for any issues to be addressed.
Read also: CHASS warns SHS's may close due to lack of funds.