The general secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, has hinted at a plan to close all basic schools.
The GNAT union, which is the largest teachers union, appears to have the support of other teacher unions in the country. The need to close basic schools was the result of a long delay in the release of capitation grant to basic schools across the country or about three (3) years.
Capitation Grant Policy
The capitation grant was introduced in 2005 to eliminate cost as a barrier to children unable to attend school due to financial hardship.
The introduction of this policy resulted in a large number of students enrolling in basic public schools.
The capitation grant policy is off to a good start with the regular release of funds.
Teachers and heads of various units of the Ghana Education Service have received funding from this policy on a regular basis, which has resulted in the efficient functioning of the basic schools.
Teachers and administrators were able to access basic teaching and learning materials such as A4 sheets of paper.
The steady disbursement to the program has slowed down after the policy got off to a good start.
However, the situation got worse. Disbursement for this policy is reported to be approximately three (3) years past due.
According to the General Secretary of the National Association of Teachers of Ghana, who spoke to TV3’s News360, there has only been one fund release in the past few years.
The current situation has forced the largest teachers association to announce the closure of basic schools while the association does not see the situation change.
Teachers are now financiers of basic schools.Â
According to Mr. Thomas Musah, teachers have no choice but to spend their meager salaries on basic materials to teach learners.
Students stopped taking typing tests for a number of semesters due to lack of money to buy or print questions.Â
Source: educativenewsroom.com