The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has appealed to the Ministry of Education to increase the protocol allocation reserved for verified stakeholders who have supported their schools from the current five to 10 per cent.
That, it said, was to cater for more deserving stakeholders, who include traditional and religious institutions and old students.
“For the avoidance of doubt, school heads neither create protocol slots nor admit students manually without authorisation.
The existing five per cent protocol allocation is reserved for verified stakeholders who have supported their schools in tangible ways.
“We further appeal to the Minister for Education to consider increasing this allocation from five per cent to at least 10 per cent to enable Heads to accommodate more deserving stakeholders,” CHASS said in a communique at its just-ended 63rd Annual National Conference held at the University of Energy and Natural Resources at Sunyani in the Bono Region.
It said in the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), which had been in operation since 2005, CHASS observed that many members of the public remain unaware of the role of school heads in the process.
Over the years, it said some heads, especially those in highly sought-after schools, had faced harassment and undue pressure from individuals in influential positions.
“We propose that the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service (GES), and the Free Senior High School Secretariat undertake a nationwide public sensitisation campaign to clarify the roles of all actors in the placement system,” it said.
Concerns
SHSs, it said, continued to face serious financial constraints, placing an overwhelming burden on school heads, adding that recurrent funds required for the smooth running of schools had been in arrears since 2021, making it extremely difficult, especially in Day schools, to procure even basic administrative materials such as stationery and examination supplies.
Similarly, feeding grants for perishable and non-perishable food items have been in arrears since June 15, 2025.
The one hot meal for day schools is also a challenge and caterers are threatening to stop feeding the students if their arrears are not paid. We respectfully urge the government to release these funds without further delay to alleviate the dire situation facing schools.
The communique said the sudden reversal of the decentralised food procurement system, which allowed schools to procure their own food between January and July 2025, came as a surprise to CHASS.
That initiative, it said, originally promised by the president, worked efficiently and gave “us the much-needed stability as a major step toward resolving the recurring challenges associated with centrally supplied food. It remains unclear which policy direction government intends to pursue in this regard.”
CHASS, however, requested that schools should be permitted to procure, at least, the six staple grains as agreed earlier between the Ministry of Education, GES and it.
That, it said, would ensure the timely, adequate and quality supply of food items and serve as a great support to farmers, which would ultimately stimulate rural economies in line with the President’s intention.
Students indiscipline
“CHASS is deeply concerned about the increasing incidence of student indiscipline.
Recent occurrences of hooliganism, riots, possession of offensive weapons, and abuse of dangerous substances such as opioids (e.g., RED) and marijuana are alarming.
Serious injuries and fatalities have already been recorded.
We reiterate our call for the recruitment of trained security personnel for all Senior High Schools and recommend the establishment of a dedicated security unit under the Ghana Police Service to handle school-related security matters.
“We are equally concerned about rising cases of teacher indiscipline and professional misconduct, particularly inappropriate relationships between teachers and students.
CHASS strongly condemns recent incidents involving an Assistant Headmaster of KNUST SHS and a teacher of Okadjkrom SHTS.
Such acts are inconsistent with the principles of our noble profession,” it emphasised.
CHASS said it expected the GES to apply appropriate sanctions as prescribed by the Code of Conduct for Teachers, without prejudice to any additional legal action.
“We assure parents and stakeholders of our reawakened and unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and protection of all students,” it said.
Moreover, CHASS said it was also deeply troubled by the growing menace of examination malpractice, which threatens the integrity of both the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the Basic Education Certificate Examination conducted by the West African Examinations Council.
Source: Graphiconline