Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has directed an immediate investigation into allegations that some senior high schools are charging students illegal fees for online classes approved by the Ghana Education Service, despite the programme being intended as a free academic support intervention.
The directive follows complaints that certain schools are collecting money from students under the guise of Parent-Teacher Association charges for access to the online learning programme, which was introduced to help complete first-term academic work.
According to a message cited during an interview, some schools were demanding as much as GH₵609 from students, with the fee reportedly presented as a PTA levy linked to the online classes.
Responding to the allegations, Mr Iddrisu described the charges as unlawful and warned that sanctions would be imposed after investigations are concluded.
“Those are unlawful charges that the Director General of GES will investigate, and appropriate sanctions will be applied,” he said.
The Education Minister further disclosed that he had already summoned the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service to begin immediate action on the matter.
“I’ve just requested the Director General of GES to join me in the office… so he will be here,” he stated.
Pressed on whether the issue would be treated as urgent, Mr Iddrisu assured that the matter would receive immediate attention.
The investigation is expected to determine which schools are involved and whether school authorities breached existing directives on free access to approved academic support programmes.