You are here: HomeNews2018 03 03Article 631215

Regional News of Saturday, 3 March 2018

Source: gbcghana.com

Ketasco old students kick against teachers evacuation from bungalows

Old Students of Keta SHS are advising government to put in place measures to solve the problem Old Students of Keta SHS are advising government to put in place measures to solve the problem

Some old students of Keta Senior High School (Ketascho) in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region are angry over a decision taken by school authorities to evacuate some teachers from the Staff Bungalows.

The authorities said the move was to pave the way for the newly admitted students, under the on-going free SHS policy.

In an interview, the teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed that the situation is affecting them badly.

One of the affected teachers said, "this directive to allow some students admitted under free SHS is really affecting us and it is equally affecting teaching and learning because we need a peace of minds to prepare before teaching".

The position of the affected teachers was echoed by Professor John Gatsi, an old student of Ketascho, who Chaired a Public lecture held at the school to mark the 65th Founders Day Celebrations of Keta Secondary Technical School.

According to him, "the situation in which a number of Teachers bungalows have been given to students while teachers don’t have accommodation is disturbing".

He called on the stakeholders including the government to put in place alternative measures to arrest the situation before it grows bigger.

Professor Gatsi, also expressed worry that The Girls Dormitory Block project being financed by Parents-Teacher-Association (PTA) dues is at a standstill because the parents of the first year students are not paying, due to government policy on PTA dues.

He said the government will continue to need the overall financial support of PTAs as government cannot provide every need of all Schools.

He, however, advised parents and government to rethink about the role of PTAs to restore their commitment to supporting schools in areas government itself may not be able to support fully.

Speaking on the role of PTAs in Free SHS, the former Director-General of Ghana Education Service, Charles Aheto-Tsegah explained that PTAs are an important part of the educational system and the current situation where the Free SHS policy seems to limit the contribution of PTAs, affect the effectiveness of the educational system.

He said, when PTAs are managed well they will continue to contribute to fostering proper planning, resolution of disputes and provision of school infrastructure.

He, however, called for national discourse on the role of PTAs.