PTAs Were Restructured, Not Abolished: Kwasi Kwarteng Explains

Kwasi Kwarteng, former spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, has cleared up confusion about the Parents Teachers Association (PTA). He explained that the PTA was not canceled by the previous government but was restructured to avoid financial exploitation of parents.

He said, “PTAs existed under the previous government, but they were restructured to prevent situations where parents who couldn’t afford PTA fees saw their children denied education, excluded from classes, or barred from exams.”

Before the restructuring, some schools used PTAs to raise money, causing issues for parents who couldn’t pay. To address this, the government, which had already relieved parents of financial burdens through the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, changed the way parents could participate. The solution was to separate the Parent Association (PA) from the Teacher Association, making parental contributions voluntary. This way, no student would face academic setbacks due to financial struggles. After the change, Parent Associations continued working with teachers and schools.

This explanation follows the announcement by the Education Minister that PTAs will be reintroduced in public schools under President John Dramani Mahama’s leadership, aiming to improve education by bringing parents and teachers together.

He also clarified that the National Standardized Test (NST), introduced in 2021, is not a new initiative, but was already in place under the previous administration.