Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education, has challenged Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) and Principals of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions to improve their educational outcomes or stand the risk of having their institutions closed down.
The minister revealed that a school with a consistent zero to ten percent pass rate should put together intervention programmes to ensure that majority of their students will find opportunities for further studies rather than becoming a liability to their parents and society due to their inability to pass their exam.
He The Minister explained that closing down the schools would help save the nation from the huge financial losses being incurred by the government as a result of the existence of the schools so that the affected students would be redistributed to other nearby schools, so they could continue their education.
Dr. Adutwum announced this over the weekend when he addressed the members of the Conference of Assisted Senior High Schools (CHASS) and Principals of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Kumasi on Saturday and Sunday.
The meeting which is an annual event was to share with them the current state of education in the country, discuss new development in the sector and answer questions on issues affecting them.
The meetings which were in two batches saw all SHS heads attending on Saturday while Principals of TVET institutions across the country also attended on Sunday.
He lauded the heads for their roles in the transformation of education in the country and pledged to continue providing the needed resources and urged them to work very hard to ensure that they attain the right results.
Dr. Adutwum also cautioned the heads to desist from preventing first-year students from enrolling due to the fact that some items on their prospectus had not been procured.
He said, “there is no way any student should be turned away from school because the parents have not been able to procure some items on the school’s prospectus. At least, let them come to the school and the rest could be procured with some time”.
The Education Minister lamented the addition of many other unapproved items on the school’s prospectus which in the long run lead to the bloating of the prospectus for first-year students.
Dr. Adutwum who is also the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe advised the heads not to do anything that would discourage or prevent any student from having access to education.
He urged the heads to let it be their goal of doing everything possible to create an enabling environment for students to study and not to disturb them from their studies.
