The Ranking Member on the Education Committee in Parliament, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe has expressed displeasure with the Ghana Education Service (GES) for the interdiction of some headteachers alleged to have breached its code of conduct.
According to him, he is not against the GES punishing heads of institution who go against the rules and regulation guiding their operations.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Probe on Tuesday, December 12, Mr Nortsu-Kotoe expressed dissatisfaction with the “manner in which GES is handling the matter.”
He explained that the interdicted headteachers are employees whom the GES has placed in certain positions to handle or manage the schools on its behalf.
He emphasised that if any of the headteachers are found guilty of any wrongdoing, the initial step the GES should take is to call the accused person and brief him/her on the alleged misconduct, and seek the person’s clarification on the allegations.
“But before you realise, letters are flying on social media that they have been interdicted. Meanwhile, they have not even received the original copy of the interdiction letters; so they have handled the matter unprofessionally,” he stressed.
The Ranking Member on the Education Committee in Parliament further emphasised that the practice of selling unapproved items to first-year students is not limited to the 11 schools whose headteachers have been interdicted.
He said the practice occurs across all senior high schools, stating that if the GES wants to do a better job in clamping down on it, they need to step up.
Mr Nortsu-Kotoe said “Even if they have done anything wrong, call them to your office. If he/she is unable to explain, then you can take any action against the person.
“Don’t just without listening to the person, write that they are on interdiction. The process or the action of GES on this interdiction is becoming too many. It has become a rendition and it is demoralising.”
The Member of Parliament for Akatsi North constituency made the remarks following the interdiction of 11 headteachers by the Ghana Education Service for allegedly selling unauthorised items and charging unapproved fees to first-year SHS students.
Meanwhile, the GES has established a committee to investigate the interdicted headteachers.
According to the Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer for GES, Henry Osei Boateng, the committee has been mandated to investigate the alleged wrongdoing.
He emphasised that headteachers found guilty will face sanctions as stipulated in the GES Code of Conduct.