By Godfred A. Polkuu
Bolgatanga, March 18, GNA – The Conference of Heads of Basic Schools (COHBS) has appealed to the government for a car waiver for its members to enable them to purchase cars to facilitate their daily activities.
It said comparatively, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools had pick-up vehicles for their daily activities, whereas the COHBS had none and, therefore, appealed to the Government to introduce the waiver to enable members to afford the cars.
Mr Rashid Alaru Fusheini, the National Financial Secretary of COHBS, made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga on the sidelines of a Regional Council meeting of executives across the 15 municipalities and districts of the region.
The meeting offered the heads the opportunity to discuss their welfare and other critical issues of concern.
“As heads of basic schools, some of us do not have means of transport as compared to the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) where they have pick-up vehicles for the heads. We do not have,” he said.
“So, we appeal to the Government to at least import portable cars for basic school Heads, and remove the tax on them, so that basic school heads can afford them.”
He said the struggle for means of transport by some members impacted negatively on their official duties and affected contact hours with pupils as some of the Heads doubled as classroom teachers.
Apart from the car waiver, the leadership of COHBS appealed to their employer to ensure their responsibility allowance was paid based on a percentage basis.
Mr Fusheini said: “At least 20 per cent of our base pay as responsibility allowance is what we put before our employer and we hope that it will be considered.”
Touching on the supply of logistics to basic schools, he said: “As we speak, the new curriculum is in its third year, and most of the schools do not have all the textbooks at the moment. So, we appeal to management as a matter of urgency, to supply the books before the end of this academic year.”
He commended the Upper East Regional leadership of COHBS for the initiative and urged them to continue to work together and advocate better conditions of service for members.
Mr Hamid Abdul-Wahab Adam, the Regional Chairman of the Conference, said apart from the textbooks, which they needed urgently, some other Teaching and Learning Materials (TLMs) were needed to facilitate the smooth operations of basic schools.
“The lack of these resources affects us a lot. We cannot operate without the TLMs, and remuneration is very important, and so if we do not have these things, it affects our work as teachers,” he said.
The Chairman used the occasion to encourage members to get their dues mechanised at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to facilitate activities of the Conference.
GNA