Basic Schools To Close Down | Thomas Musah

Basic Schools To Close Down | Thomas Musah

The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, has hinted at plans to close down all basic schools. The union, GNAT, which is the largest teachers’ union, apparently has the blessing of the other teachers’ unions in the country. The need for the basic schools to close down is a result of a prolonged delay in the release of capitation grants to the basic schools in the country for about three (3) years.

Capitation grant policy

The capitation grant was introduced in the year 2005 to eliminate cost as a barrier for children who could not go to school due to financial constraints. The introduction of the policy led to massive enrollment of learners into public basic schools.

Good beginning

The capitation grant policy started on a good note with regular release of funds. Teachers and managers of various units of the Ghana Education Service received the funding for the policy regularly, which led to effective functioning of basic schools. Teachers and managers were able to acquire basic teaching and learning materials like A4 sheet papers.

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A worsened release of funds

The regular release of funds for the program took a nose dive after the beautiful beginning of the policy. However, the situation has worsened. The release of funds for the policy is stated to be in arrears for about three (3) years. According to the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, who spoke to TV3’s News360, there has been only one release of funds for the past years. This current situation has forced the largest teachers’ union to declare basic schools to close down when the union does not see any change in the situation.

Teachers are now financiers of basic schools.

According to Mr. Thomas Musah, teachers have no choice than to be spending their meagre salary on basic materials to teach the learners. Students have stopped writing typed examination for a number of terms due to unavailability of funds to purchase or print the questions.

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