Heads of schools should be allowed to fill vacancies

Ho, Nov. 6, GNA - The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), on Friday asked the Ghana Education Service (GES) to allow heads of schools to fill vacancies in schools with first year students according to laid down criteria after first placement.

This, CHASS said would reduce the anxiety of parents and prospective students and speed up the work of heads of schools in the Computer Schools Selection and Placement System.

This was contained in an 11 point communiqué issued at the end of the 47 Annual Conference of CHASS held on the theme: "Senior High School Education in Ghana: The challenges and the way forward", in HO.

The communiqué also appealed to the GES to "as a matter of expediency, automatically promote all substantive heads of schools still on the rank of Assistant Director one (1) to the rank of Deputy Director."

It called on the GES to urgently speed up the appointment of substantive heads of schools to avoid the situation where District Directors act as heads of schools for long periods in addition to their already busy schedules.

The communiqué also called for responsibility allowances for heads of schools, housemasters and housemistresses and heads of departments to be adjusted upward to 50 percent of their salaries to commensurate with the reality of the volume of work entailed in their responsibilities.

It called on government to provide the infrastructure for schools and complete all existing educational projects special at less endowed schools.

The communiqué said the upward adjustment of feeding fees of students at the second cycle woefully inadequate and should be adjusted upward again.

It also called on politicians to refrain from directly interfering in school administration, and rather use all due processes to solve problems."

GNA