The annual super zonal sports competition by the Ghana Education service for senior high schools in the Eastern region has been indefinitely suspended due financial challenges facing the schools.
The competition was scheduled to come off Monday July 25,2022 at Koforidua Secondary Technical school (SECTECH) as the game village with two other sub-camps in GHANASS and POJOSS.
Some of the participating schools and their trainers arrived on Thursday but organizers of the event and the Conference of Heads of Government Assisted Secondary Schools,CHASS, at an emergency meeting decided to cancel the event over financial challenges as government has failed to pay arrears owed the schools as part of the free Senior high school policy.
CHASS had said earlier in a resolution sent to the Ministry of Education on July 12,2022 that ” Since 2021, funds meant for recurrent [expenses], have been released once. By extension, recurrent funds are in arrears since 2021 and 6 months into 2022”.
The recurrent fees structure of the free Senior high school education covers general stationery, first aid, maintenance of vehicles, building maintenance, sports fees, culture fees, sanitation fees, postage and practical fees.
Others include maintenance of machines/tools, examination fees, entertainment fees, SRC dues and co-curricula activities.
The rest are laboratory supplies, development levy, house dues and technical training materials (for TVET students only).
CHASS explained that the host schools will not be able to feed the athletes and buy the needed sporting materials for the event .
The cancellation has left sporting students from seven zones frustrated.
The cancellation of the Eastern Regional Zonal Sports competition means Eastern region will not be represented in the National sports festival on 20th October, in Takoradi.
Sports competitions in Schools help to unearth talents in athletics, soccer and other sports disciplines for the country.
Some of the students talented in various disciplines get scholarship opportunities to universities abroad.
Source :Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
