The Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed all Heads of Public Senior High, Technical and STEM Schools, as well as other stakeholders in the education sector, to fully reinstate the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in all pre-tertiary schools across the country.
This is contained in a release issued by the GES and signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Daniel Fenyi, on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
According to the statement, the directive is in line with President Mahama’s directive to the Service asking that the Association which was scrapped from all pre-tertiary schools by the previous administration be reinstated.
“In line with this directive, Management of GES has instructed all Heads of Public Senior High, Technical and STEM Schols to operationalise the reinstatement of PTÂs with immediate effect,” portions of the statement indicated.
The initiative, according to the GES, is “aimed at strengthening the collaboration and involvement of parents, communities and teachers in the delivery of quality education to Ghanaian learners.”
The GES assured that further guidelines for the smooth implementation, regarding structure, roles and financial accountability mechanism for the operationalisation of the PTAs will be issued in due course.
This, the statement avers, is to “promote transparency, uniformity, and efficiency in the operations of PTAs nationwide.”
Background
President John Dramani Mahama urged the full reinstatement of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in schools nationwide, arguing that sidelining parents from school governance has undermined accountability and community involvement.
Speaking during a meeting with the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at the Jubilee House in Accra Wednesday, June 11, 2025, Mahama described the marginalisation of PTAs as misguided.
“The trend everywhere in the world is to give communities a say in how their schools are run,” he said. “I felt very scandalised when PTAs were virtually shoved aside and not allowed to be a part of the running of our schools, especially at the secondary level.”
PTAs were significantly reformed following the 2019 abolition of mandatory PTA levies under the Free Senior High School policy. The Ghana Education Service later restructured them into Parent Associations, subjecting them to strict financial regulations. While intended to prevent fund misuse and protect families from unauthorised charges, this reduced parents’ influence in supporting school infrastructure and oversight.
Civil society groups, such as the African Foundation for Educational Development, warned at the time that the changes could diminish community engagement in schools.
The Ministry of Education has since confirmed efforts to reintegrate PTAs into daily school operations, recognising their vital role.
Mr Mahama pledged to collaborate with GNAT and other unions to restore the PTAs in all pre-tertiary institutions. “PTA participation must be fully restored so that they work with teachers and school administration to make sure our children are getting a good outcome in terms of teaching and learning,” he added.
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