Headmasters facing various sanctions for charging unapproved fees were given lesser punishments than they deserved, the Ghana Education Service assesses its decision.
Two senior high schools headmasters have been demoted by the GES and are to go back to the classroom to teach. Seven others have been interdicted.
The Ghana Education Service meted out the sanctions after a committee had met the affected heads of schools accused of going contrary to the code of conducts guiding the rollout of the Free SHS Policy.
Government absorbed all fees at the secondary school level under the policy for first year students, but some schools have been accused of devising some disingenuous means to fleece parents.
About 19 heads of schools were called before a disciplinary committee and given a chance to explain their actions. Read more here
But Chairman of Ghana Education Service Council, Michael Nsowah told 3FM’s Mercydarlyn Lokko that the nine headmasters who were sanctioned “went beyond their limit”.
Some people felt the punishments were hash since the implementation of the policy was at its embryonic state.
But Mr. Nsowah said the GES was even lenient with the headmasters as it strives to send signals to others to fully implement the Free SHS policy.
“We have been very fair, in fact we have been very soft; maybe we tempered justice with mercy,” he asserted.
But the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NGRAT) said the GES might be flouting its own code of conducts.
NAGRAT Vice President Angel Karbonu doubts if the GES followed the laid down disciplinary procedures in its own book for taking action against the heads.
He told 3FM the leadership would meet GES next week and make its position known on the punishments.
In the absence of a blueprint in running the policy, the heads of schools were forced to take certain decisions to keep the schools going, he said, noting the Free SHS policy does not cover “every aspect of running the school”.
By Isaac Essel |3news.com | Ghana