Opinions of Monday, 6 January 2014

Columnist: Abubakr, Sani

Open letter from ADISCO to the minister of education

Dear Minister,
I write this letter with a heavy heart and it bothers on what I suspect to be collusion between the out-going headmaster of Adisadel College and the PTA executive. Why do I say this? In the term’s bill given my ward, each parent has to pay 30 Ghana cedis (old 300.000) as a send-off package for the out-going head. Honourable Minister, multiply this amount by about 1,500 students of this school and one gets a whopping sum of about 45.000 Ghana cedis (old 450.000.000). There is a letter purportedly signed by the six executive members of the PTA added to the bill, meaning that they agreed with or took that decision with the headmaster. What on earth will compel anybody to do such a BUKATA?
According to my ward, each of the students was made to pay 2 Ghana cedis. When I called his housemaster he confirmed they also paid 20 Ghana cedis each. The first question is, is this the standard practice? This is my last child in secondary school out 6 children. The fourth child also attended Adisco but I have never experienced this in any of the school’s they attended. Is it end-of-service benefit? I remember the same headmaster made us to pay some 100.000 Ghana cedis (old One billion cedis) which he said the school incurred due to price hikes in food stuffs. He never rendered accounts on that money and now this!
Hon. Minister, as a parent who is suffering as any other Ghanaian in these hard times, it is unfair on the part of any out-going headmaster to impose unapproved amount on parents to go and enjoy with his family. Headmasters have made enough money from us the parents. If there is such a policy I think the ministry should take care of that. As for me that amount will not form part of the FEES I will pay. Parents have suffered enough, come to our rescue Madam Minister. Thank you.
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