Tension is rising in Kpassa Senior High Technical School (KPASTECH), located in the Nkwanta-North District in the Oti Region, over unauthorised fines imposed on students.
The Headmaster of the school, Rockson Kwame Tawiah, is alleged to have imposed, without the consent of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) or approval from the Board of Governors, a fine of GH¢150 on each of the over 2,900 students for what he claims was to compensate for the loss of some items in the school.
The Daily Graphic gathered that the students were being made to pay GH¢435,000 cumulatively for the loss of 27 ceiling fans, some lamp holders, and bulbs that have been reportedly removed.
While it remains unclear how the items were reportedly removed from the school, the headmaster also forced all the 860 students who sat this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to pay the GH¢150 fine, threatening to block their results if they failed to do so.
The Daily Graphic has sighted some text messages sent to parents of some past students.
One of the messages read, “Management has noted extensive damage caused by students to school property over the 2024/2025 academic year.
Consequently, your child/ward (name withheld) is required to pay GH¢150 as the cost of damages by October 15. For details on the extent of damages, kindly contact the school.
Please note: non-payment will lead to blockage of your ward’s WASSCE results.”
Another text message read: “Dear (name withheld), you are reminded to pay the damage fees of GH¢150 to avoid blockage of your WASSCE results. Thank you.”
The Daily Graphic has also received dozens of receipts bearing the stamp of the accountant of KPASTEC, confirming the payments made by the students.
Additionally, some parents of continuing students who recently reported to school also informed the Daily Graphic that their children have been instructed to pay the amount urgently.
The parents and students are being bombarded with text messages from the school administration to pay the fine immediately.
In an interview with the PTA Chairman for KPASTECH, Mafin Williams, he said the association had not been involved in what he described as “unauthorised collection of money from the students”.
When asked if he was aware that students had destroyed any property in the school, he said that information had not come to the attention of the PTA.
“I have not seen anything in the school that has been destroyed by the students.
The PTA does not have a hand in the money being collected; it is the headmaster who is doing his thing,” he said.
Accountant tight-lipped
When the Daily Graphic contacted Jacob Kofi Fianyenu, the Head of the Accounting Department at KPASTECH, to confirm the payments made by the students, he declined to affirm or deny them.
“I am not the headmaster of the school, so I cannot confirm to you that we have collected money from the students,” he said.
When he was also asked if the receipts were emanating from his office, he said, “I will not talk on this matter; if you need any information, go to the headmaster,” and he dropped the line.
No Board approval
The Chairman of the KPASTECH Governing Board, Joseph Kwaku Nayan, told the Daily Graphic that no approval had been given for the payment of the GH¢150 by the students.
“We have not met as a board this year.
What I remember is that the headmaster called me and mentioned that some destruction had been caused to school property, and there is a need to find a way to replace it. We have not met as a board over the issue, so we have not approved any payments,” he said.
Headmaster declines interview
When the Daily Graphic contacted him, Mr Tawiah (the headmaster) declined to respond to any questions on the unauthorised fines, asking the reporter to obtain a written approval from the Oti Regional Director of Education before he would entertain the questions.
“I am the head teacher of this school, but unless I get approval or permission from my Regional Director of Education, I cannot grant any media person an interview.
You can go to the Regional Director of Education for approval and come to me on campus,” he stated.
Admission blues
In a related development, the Daily Graphic found that all newly admitted students to the school were made to buy one ream of A4 bond paper and one mini bucket of emulsion paint, although those items are not part of the prospectus approved by the Ghana Education Service (GES) for fresh students.
The students have also been required to pay GH¢50 before their admission letters are accepted, with no receipts issued to back the payments.
Parents described the development as worrying, especially since the government had introduced the free senior high school policy to ease their financial burden.
“I am struggling to understand why a school will ask fresh students to bring a ream of A4 sheets, which costs GH¢70, and a bucket of emulsion paint at GH¢75,” one of the parents told the Daily Graphic.
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