Summon Education Minister to answer for SHSs’ power outages – NAGRAT to parliament

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has called on parliament to summon the Minister of Education to explain the recent power outages experienced in some schools across the country.

This comes after Accra Academy Senior High School (SHS) was plunged into darkness on Monday, February 19, 2024, over outstanding bills owed to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The Vice President of NAGRAT, Jacob Anaba, asserts that other schools in the Bono Region suffered the same fate.

Mr Anaba said parliament needs to intervene to bring an end to the power outages in the schools.

“The Ministry has not been proactive. For us to be owing the third quarter and fourth quarter, and we are not even talking about this year, then there is a serious problem. I will urge Parliament to invite the Minister to Parliament to explain to the Ghanaian public what is happening for us to get understanding,” Mr Anaba said.

However, the spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng, has refuted Mr Anaba’s claims that other schools in the Bono Region were affected.

“Jacob makes wild allegations about schools in Bono having been disconnected from the national grid for non-payment? I mean for me, I believe that NAGRAT is a very responsible institution, you don’t make claims without verification,” he said in a Joynews interview monitored by The Ghana Report.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik, has disclosed that Senior High Schools owe the ECG over GH¢45 million arrears.

He also apologized for any inconvenience caused in the wake of the disconnection and clarified that the disconnection at Accra Academy was not the primary objective of the company.