School heads asked to study accounting and administration

Accra, (Greater Accra) 21 July '99,

Members of Parliament has called on heads of pre-university institutions to study accounting and administration to enable them monitor their schools' finances rather than leave everything to the bursars.

This is because they are responsible for the financial management of their schools and would invariably be affected by any financial impropriety committed by their accounts section.

Members said these during the debate and consequent adoption of the Public Accounts Committee's report on the Auditor-General's Report on pre-university educational institutions for the period ended June, 1996.

They also advised the heads to be guided by recommendations of the Auditor-General's Report in order not to commit more blunders.

In the debate, Mr Joseph E. Ackah, NDC-Jomoro, commended the committee for a good work done and called on them to investigate further, how a headmaster who has misappropriated funds in a particular school has been transferred to head a school in his constituency.

He expressed fears that the same offence may be committed in the new school.

He called on the authorities to monitor how funds collected by school heads are utilised, citing the case of a head who collected boarding fees from sixth formers and used the money to put up a primary school knowing very well sixth formers are exempted from paying boarding fees.

Mr J.H. Mensah, Minority Leader, agreed with the member, saying that that headmaster transferred to a different school should have been sanctioned in another way.

"If he can't be trusted in one location, he cannot be trusted at another".

Mr Mensah who is also the chairman of the committee, mentioned misuse of feeding fees, delay in submission of school accounts for auditing and the misuse of book user fees as some of the areas that needed critical attention.

The Minority Leader said the book user fees are supposed to be a revolving fund, adding that the situation whereby some heads are tampering with the fees "is totally unacceptable" since lack of books is greatly undermining the educational system.

Mr M.A. Seidu, Deputy Majority Leader, called for a new policy, which spells out the qualification needed to head an institution.

Using of long service and number of years served in a particular school is not always helpful since "not all good classroom teachers can be good managers".

He noted that some schools do not properly account for monies collected from PTA's and old boys associations and as such all headmasters should be held responsible for that.

Mr Nicholas Appiah Kubi, NDC-Jaman, suggested that PTA's should handle their own accounts.

Winding up, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Deputy Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, appealed to MPs and Parliament to help the committee to monitor the implementation of their recommendations.

He urged the Auditor-General's Department to abide by its obligation of submitting two audited reports of institutions annually to help bring the anomalies under control.

He also deplored the situation whereby some schools have paid for goods up to the tune of 8.3 million but the goods have not been delivered, saying this is an offence.

Mr Baah-Wiredu further called on heads of institutions to ensure that all assets are captured in their assets register. He said failure to do this will result in loss of school properties.

He noted that accounts of boarding operations of schools throughout the country showed a profit of 1.7 billion cedis and called on the GES to ensure that monies are properly utilised.

When the question was put the report was adopted.

GRi./