The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to pay electricity bills owed by Senior High Schools (SHS).
This comes after the Auditor-General’s report revealed that several schools in the Northern Region owe significant debts to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company Limited (NEDCo).
At a sitting in Tamale, PAC asked GES to take full responsibility for these bills to prevent power cuts.
Several SHSs have suffered power outages over accumulated bills owed to the power distribution companies.
In February 2024, ECG cut the power supply to Accra Academy Senior High School over a GH¢480,000 debt, forcing students to rely on torchlights for studying.
In April 2023, ECG disconnected the administration block and master’s bungalows of the Mfantsiman Girls’ Secondary School in the Central Region.
The disconnection was done after the school failed to pay an amount of GH¢316,160 owed to the power distribution company.
Similarly, the administration and master’s bungalow of the Biriwa Secondary Technical School were also disconnected for failing to pay an amount of GH¢112,300.
The Vice President of NAGRAT, Jacob Anaba, said parliament needed to intervene to bring an end to the electricity crisis 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.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik, disclosed that Senior High Schools owe the ECG over GH¢45 million arrears.