…In the name of discipline

By Ernest Best Anane

THE PRINCIPAL of the Nursing Training College of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has adopted a rather bizarre and abnormal method of generating funds internally.

She stands accused of adding to the economic burden of parents and guardians by extorting monies from students at a time almost every Ghanaian is virtually facing economic hardship of form or the other. Mrs. Matilda Bansah, who is also the Deputy Director of Nursing Services at the Hospital, is by extension adding to the burden of parents and guardians of students of the College.

She charges GH¢5.00 per day for default in payment of fees. Information reaching TRUTH indicates that the principal has decreed that students who owe school fees would have to pay GH¢ 5.00 daily as a penalty before they are allow to attend classes.

Mrs. Bansah, according to our reliable source does not account for these monies thus collected to anybody and that they (monies) are for her personal use.

Some of the students who spoke to this reporter also confirmed the extortion charge incident and explained that, students who owed school fees were given an ultimatum to make full payment of fees by April 13, 2010 and that those who could not beat the deadline were to pay a daily penalty of GH¢5.00 until full payment had been effected. The said they knew it was illegal, they could not raise objection for fear of dismissal from the school.

When contacted, Mrs. Matilda Bansah, confirmed the illegal collection of GH¢5.00 but denied pocketing it for her personal use.

* and explained that she is taking the monies in order to bring discipline in the school and to stop the students from misbehaving. She further indicates that soon she assumed office as the principal of the school she detected that most of the students take the fees from the parents and will not pay for a full semester, go home and come back as others may not even register others will register late. And observe that paying the penalty will help to detere such behavior of the students to pay the fees and register at the appropriate time to avoid pressure especially during examination period added that those who will fail to do so without given a good reasons and also fail to write a letter to the administration to why they can not pay will falls a victim of paying the penalty. Which she said was announced in a durbar with the students and the administrators of the school, which she disclosed is in the school hand book and adding that the monies as penalty taken from the student is not pocketed as perceived by the informer, but is using it in buying plastic chairs for the school to be use during their inaugural ceremonies as they always hire chairs in such occasions which the students themselves are all aware of, which not secrete to the administration school. E N D.