Anomabo (C/R), Jan 26, GNA - The Mfantseman District Education Directorate has warned teachers who have been collecting fees to organise extra classes for their pupils to stop the practice because it is illegal.

Miss Vivian Etroo, the District Director, therefore charged heads of schools in the district to ensure that no teacher collects unauthorised fees from the pupils.

"Anyone who disobeys the directive will be severely sanctioned," she warned during a familiarisation meeting with teachers at Anomabo. Miss Etroo said reports reaching her indicated that even some kindergarten and primary school teachers were organising extra classes for the kids for fees and wondered what purpose would that serve for a child in pre-school.

"Some of the parents were hard pressed financially than those of you who are using the extra classes to exploit them, so do not compound their problems," she warned.

Miss Etroo held that if teachers could use school contact hours effectively, there would be no need for them to spend extra hours, even to prepare their pupils for examination.

She said even in instances where parents and the school management decide to organise extra classes for final year pupils or students, the approved fees should be jointly collected by the Parent Teacher Association and the teacher.

Miss Etroo urged heads to display their School Performance plans, which they prepared before accessing the capitation grant, on their notice boards for verification by teachers, PTAs and School Management Committees.

The Director told the teachers that study leave with pay was not automatic for a teacher who had served between two and four years in an urban or a rural area and advised them to take into account the programmes which attracted study leave with pay when filling the forms. She cautioned that teachers who desert class before approval of their study leave would forfeit their salaries for the period of absence.