By Joyce Kantam Kolamong
Proprietors and owners of private schools, particularly Low Fee Private Schools (LFPS), under the Ghana National Association of Private Schools, in the Northern Region have met for the first time in Tamale to deliberate on ways to address the challenges of delivering quality education.
Some of the critical issues raised at the meeting include high property rates, business permits, inspection rates and registration charges for BECE. According to the meeting, some private schools, especially in rural communities, charge as low as five Ghana cedis per month due to economic challenges, and this is woefully inadequate for them to operate effectively. They are advocating for zero discrimination and urging the government to include private Schools in its policies and programmes towards effective teaching and learning outcomes.
The programme was spearheaded by USAID/Advancing Partnerships for Improved Learning Activity, the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) in partnership with Opportunity International. The meeting opened up a dialogue on how stakeholders within the Northern Region, district and community-level leadership, can support LFPS to grow and thrive to enable them to continue educating children in deprived and hard-to-reach parts of the Region.
Some of the school owners and managers were bitter about the neglect of the government towards private schools. According to them, government must cater for both public and private school children to ensure that they all get quality education. They underscored the importance of private schools, adding that there are many communities where children will have no access to education but for these Low Fee Private Schools.
“One of the GNAPS leaders raised an issue that I am happy about, he said at the district level, we should form an advocacy groups that can help raise these issues and GNAPS can not do anything without consulting the group. So I believe when that group is formed it will go a long way to help private schools,” Alhassan Yamusah Salifu., Principal of Fatimah Farida School, Tamale.
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools, GNAPS, Justice King Essiel, said there are private schools in deprived communities that are doing well, not for economic reasons but for the sake of future leaders.
He reiterated the commitment of GNAPS to knock on the doors of relevant stakeholders for collective change.
“All stakeholders who have represented have seen the need for us to collaborate and take away some of the barriers that discriminate against children in private schools. I think that is quite exciting and encouraging. We think that going forward we will be able to follow up on some of these things and hold them to their word,” Mr. Essiel indicated.
The President of GNAPS, Prof. Damascus Tuurosong, said teachers at LFPS are not motivated to give their best because they are poorly paid.
He said, “In Kulkpeniduri, a community near Yendi, Rev. Inspector Inusah established Hope Education Complex for children. He is educating Ghanaian children at his expense. So why should such a school be denied Child support the that to attend for free. He uses his personal income to run the is extended to public schools just because it is a private school.”
The GNAPS meeting is the first of its kind to be held, and it covers the Northern, North East, Upper East, and Upper West regions with a total of 213 private schools.
