School Heads call for a review on boarding & lodging fee structure

of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has urged the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to form a standing committee to review students' feeding costs from time to time. Such a step, CHASS said, will end the confusion that arises anytime a proposal is made for the increment of feeding fees in boarding secondary schools. Rev. Father Samuel Batsa, acting President of CHASS, said this at a forum in Accra to discuss the effects of its proposal to increase the fees from the present C800 to C1,800. In attendance were parents, students, bursars and headmasters of some secondary schools. Rev. Batsa said CHASS did not arrive at the new figure unilaterally, but did so in consultation with the GES and domestic bursars of boarding schools. He said CHASS is not insensitive to the plight of parents issue realistically". Rev. Batsa said the present C800 could be maintained but that will be at a great nutritional cost to the students who need good food to develop mentally.

Reacting to a reader's letter in this paper which said CHASS has threatened to close down schools, should the increase be denied, he explained that CHASS' position is to close down only the boarding sections of schools should there be no increase. Supporting Rev. Batsa's suggestion, Mr. Joe Frimpong, Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), said such a standing committee should comprise the GES,GNAT,CHASS and parents. The committee should analyse annual budget statements and make recommendations to the Ministry of Education. Mr. Frimpong expressed regret that since the budget was read in January and despite fuel price increase, the Ministry of Education has yet to come out with new fees even though commodity prices have increased significantly. Graphic