South Tongu GES falls on capitation grant to pay utility bills

Heads of some public basic schools in the South Tongu district of the Volta region are up in arms against the district education directorate for cutting down on their allocation of the capitation grant, being disbursed for running of the schools.

Information gathered by Voltaonline, revealed that, the education office levied each basic school pupil, 50pesewas and subsequently deducted it from their share of the capitation grant of GHc4.50 per child.

The amount which is lodged in a special account known as ‘District Support Levy’ is meant to help the office defray its debts to utility providers including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

But some of the head teachers who are unhappy about the deduction noted that, it will adversely affect the smooth running of the schools, as they depend on the grant to supply teaching aids and other items needed to teach the pupils effectively.

One of them who spoke on condition of anonymity, said his school with population of 442 pupils was levied Ghc220, alongside other deductions made at the national level.

“We are supposed to use the capitation grant to run the schools… buying teaching aids and items that we need… but as it is now, we have to wait for another year or term to do some of the things we planned,” he lamented bitterly.
Figures available to Voltaonline indicated that, there are about 142 public basic schools, comprising 84 primary and 58 Junior High schools, with an estimated population of about 16,000 in the South Tongu district. 
Meanwhile, a source explained to Voltaonline that, the deduction was necessitated by the directorate inability to pay the bills in line government’s recent directive to Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) pay for their utilities.