Dr. Apaak Calls for Reversal of Ghana Education Service’s Move to Replace PTAs with PAs

In a recent development, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak, has strongly urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to reconsider its decision to reorganize Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) into Parent Associations (PA). Dr. Apaak emphasized the vital role that PTAs have played in supporting the government’s efforts to ensure universal access to education.

The GES announced the decision to reorganize PTAs into PAs, citing financial and operational challenges associated with providing education access in schools. However, Dr. Apaak deemed this move as “totally unnecessary” in an interview with Citi News, highlighting the negative consequences and asserting the pivotal role PTAs continue to play in assisting the government.

The GES’s new guidelines for Parent Associations include prohibiting teachers from participating, restricting teachers from collecting fees preventing students from writing exams, and stipulating that parents whose wards have completed school must no longer be part of the Association. Gapson Kofi Raphael, the Secretary of the National Council of the Parents Teachers Association in Ghana, expressed dismay over these guidelines, deeming the actions by the GES as unlawful and illegal.

This development has sparked opposition and concerns among education stakeholders, with calls for a reversal of the decision to maintain the longstanding and impactful role of PTAs in supporting the education system.