School heads demanding money to release BECE results?

Saltpond, Sept. 8. GNA ´-- Heads of junior secondary schools have been warned against collection of monies from parents or students as a condition for releasing the results of the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) to them.

Miss Vivian Etroo, Mfantseman District Director of Education, who gave the warning, said it was illegal to collect money before releasing examination result slips.

Miss Etroo was reacting to complaints from some members of the Mfantseman District Assembly about such activities at its last session at Saltpond on Thursday.

The Director cautioned that any headmaster or headmistress who collected such monies, would be sanctioned and appealed to parents, guardians or students who had gone through such treatment to report to her office.

'Now that government has introduced the Capitation Grant to make basic education free, any attempt to sabotage it will not go unpunished,' Miss Etroo warned.

On the re-engagement of retired teachers, the director said she was accepting only the applications of teachers who had worked in the District and about whose conduct she could testify.

She said she would also consider the physical fitness of applicants and also the duration of their retirement.

Miss Etroo explained that since teaching had gone through some new methodologies and new subjects had been introduced in the curricular, it would be difficult for teachers who had retired over five years ago to cope.

She advised those seeking re-engagement to go to their former districts where they were known, for the processing of their applications.

'That will prevent the situation where some misfits will take advantage of the policy to get back into the classroom only to cause trouble', she added.