CHASS Cries Over Funding Woes as Critics Blame Mahama’s Broken Promises
Accra — The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has raised alarm over severe financial constraints crippling operations across senior high schools in Ghana. Its president painted a grim picture of the situation, lamenting that schools are “suffocating financially” due to the government’s inability to release funds on time.
The cry for help has, however, triggered sharp reactions from some education watchers and political commentators who accuse CHASS of hypocrisy. One of the loudest voices is that of columnist P.K. Sarpong, who in a widely shared commentary argued that CHASS members brought the current situation upon themselves through their political choices and misplaced expectations.
“Weren’t they the same people who complained bitterly about government supplying schools with food items?” Sarpong wrote, recalling how CHASS leadership had previously criticized the Akufo-Addo administration’s centralized food supply system under the Free SHS policy. According to him, many school heads welcomed then-candidate John Dramani Mahama’s promise during the 2024 campaign to hand schools direct cash to purchase food from local markets instead of relying on government-supplied stock.
Mr. Mahama, who returned to power after last year’s election, had assured CHASS that schools would receive funds to buy food from nearby markets such as Kejetia and Makola. The promise, at the time, was hailed as a way to ensure efficiency and autonomy for school heads. But months into his presidency, critics say the policy has been abandoned due to funding challenges and poor fiscal space.
Now, with food shortages and unpaid arrears hitting many schools, CHASS finds itself at the center of a storm. “The President realized a few months into his promise that it’s not sustainable and had to abandon it,” Sarpong wrote, adding that those who “openly campaigned for Mahama” are now paying the price.
Government officials have remained tight-lipped about the delay in releasing funds, though insiders at the Education Ministry blame the current difficulties on what they describe as “budget restructuring” under the new administration. The Free SHS policy, which remains one of the costliest social programmes in Ghana’s history, is said to be consuming over 20 percent of the education budget.
Some analysts say the funding challenge is a wake-up call for CHASS and the entire education system. “This was predictable,” said a policy observer who preferred anonymity. “When you replace a controlled supply chain with direct cash disbursement without fixing leakages and accountability mechanisms, you risk total collapse.”
While CHASS insists its appeal is not political, its critics remain unconvinced. The group’s latest statement has fueled a broader public debate about whether school heads, who once demanded autonomy in managing food supplies, are now facing the consequences of that demand under a government they supported.
As the controversy brews, the bigger question remains: can the government find the funds to sustain Free SHS without sinking deeper into debt, or will it be forced to revise a flagship programme that has become both a social lifeline and a political lightning rod?
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