Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) is in receipt of a letter addressed to the Director-General from an association called National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (NCPTAS) regarding the recent Code of Conduct for Students in Pre-Tertiary Schools and Guidelines for Parent Associations. The attention of Management has further been drawn to media publications and reports of the same issue. The GES wishes to inform the general public as follows:
1. As captured in the Guidelines for Parent Associations, the GES appreciates and values the immense contributions that parents and guardians individually and collectively make to schools.
2. The Service does not have any form of relationship with the said Council.
3. Parent Associations or Parent Teacher Associations in the past have always been school-specific with no national orientation. The clear criteria for becoming a member of the Association is to be a parent or guardian with a child/ward in the said school in which the association operates.
4. The GES has not excluded teachers from participating in the association. In fact, clause 6 clearly articulates that a teacher or staff of a school that has a child or ward in the school may join the association, including becoming an executive of the association.
5. Clause 6 further encourages school authorities to provide any administrative support that the association may require in promoting the interest of the school.
6. In the current dispensation where the government has absorbed all fees, including intervention grants, GES saw the need to update its guidelines on how parent associations are to operate in our schools.
7. The intention is to ensure that we establish welcoming learning environments for our students, and we continue to believe that parents are critical partners in the delivery of education. We will, therefore, not compromise on that partnership as reflected in the school-specific associations and the support they provide to their schools.
CASSANDRA TWUM AMPOFO
HEAD, PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT.
