Mpraeso SHS Students Angry Over Science Bus Fare

A Science resource bus belonging to the Mpraeso Senior High School (SHS) in the Kwawu South District of the Eastern Region is alleged to have been turned into a private commercial bus by authorities of the school. Some of the students are alleging that they were made to pay GH¢ 1.00 as transport fare anytime the vehicle took them out of the campus. A student who spoke to the DAILY HERITAGE on condition of anonymity said every time the school bus picks students to any programme in the district, they are made to pay GH¢ 1.00 each as transport fare. Those who can’t afford to pay are denied the opportunity to take the bus. For some time now the students have been denied access to travel on the bus if they were not able to afford the amount requested by the school driver. The student said during the 2014 district SHS inter-schools sports last term, each student was made to pay GH¢ 1.00 from the Mpraeso Senior High school campus to Nkwatia St. Peters Senior High School and Nkwatia Senior High School. He further claimed that the sports venues were less than three kilometers away from the Mpraeso Senior High School. A parent who has two of his wards in the school confirmed that the students have been complaining about the school authorities extorting some monies from them, including the transport fares. He said on several occasions his wards were not allowed to board the school bus because they could not pay the fare. The parent appealed to the government, Ministry of Education and the District Educational Directorate to come to their aid to rectify the siphoning of monies from parents.   Eric Owusu, the school’s accountant in an interview, however, denied the allegations. Mr. Owusu said sometime last year there was an instance when the school bus driver, Kwame Bamfo, refused to send some of the students to the games venue and a Hyundai bus driver who chanced upon the stranded students took them at the cost of GH¢ 1.00 per head. He said, when it came to the notice of the school authorities, the driver was queried and suspended for a month. Mr. Owusu said the anomaly has been rectified.