The Western Regional Chairman of the National Council of Parent Teacher Associations, Daniel Vroom-Laryea, has voiced concern over the government’s exclusion from senior high school management.
Stressing the crucial role of parental support for the success of the free Senior High School policy, he pointed out that parents are currently being hindered from assisting schools.
Mr Vroom-Laryea highlighted issues such as over 21 pregnancies in a senior high school due to a lack of walls and the prevention of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) from contributing to schools, which he deemed a significant problem.
“Parents are now being prevented from helping the schools, but we must know that free SHS is meaningless without the support of parents. We even recorded over 21 pregnancies in one of the senior high schools last year, because the school had no wall, and the students were being sneaked out. We are not being made to help, the government has stopped PTA from doing everything in the schools and that is a problem”, he added.
His comments were prompted by revelations from Sally Nelly Coleman, the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Director of the Ghana Education Service, indicating that over 137,000 fresh students placed through the 2023 Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) have not enrolled for admissions in various Senior High Schools.
The Ghana Education Service released the computer placement list for fresh students last year, with a reopening date of January 3, 2024. Coleman expressed concern, stating that out of about 590,000 placements nationwide, only 453,000 students have reported for admissions.
Mr Vroom-Laryea attributed this situation to an unfavorable reopening date, citing complaints from cocoa farmers in rural areas who had little yield and struggled financially to send their children to school. He emphasized that the hidden issues behind the free Senior High School policy make it more expensive than initially thought.