The Public Relations Officer of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Irene Sam, has cautioned school authorities against preventing students from writing examinations over unpaid PTA dues, describing the practice as wrong and against education regulations.
Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, she stressed that PTA dues are strictly the responsibility of parents and should not involve students.
“For anything PTA, we don’t include the kids. We deal with the parents and teachers. So if a ward has not paid their PTA dues, it is not in the laws to sack the ward. It is against the GES rules and regulations,” she said.
She added that no PTA has the authority to punish students over such payments.
“The wards and children are not part of the PTA, and so we don’t have the right to sack them. Any PTA doing that is very wrong,” she stated.
Her comments come after reports that some students were allegedly prevented from sitting for examinations due to unpaid PTA dues.
Madam Sam said the association had not officially received such complaints but insisted that even the Ghana Education Service (GES) has cautioned against the collection of unauthorised fees.
“We have not heard such issues anywhere. We have spoken with teachers not to take such dues because it is against the laws. Even GES has issued warnings to its staff not to take any dues they are not mandated to collect,” she explained.
She emphasised that PTA operations are limited to parents and teachers, not students.
“When it comes to PTA work, it is between the executives and the parents. The children are not supposed to suffer because of this. It is absolutely wrong,” she said.
The PRO further noted that PTA leadership structures exist across schools and regions, making it possible for concerns to be escalated.
“We have PTA executives in all schools, regional coordinators, and we monitor issues. So if anything like this is happening, parents should report it to us,” she added.
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