Dangers of Sending Children Home for Fees

By Augustina Brown

It is the dream of every parent to have his or her child in school. It is also their dream to see their ward become someone great in future. 


But how do they fulfill this dream when they are not well to do or do not have the money to take their children to school?

We are all aware of the huge amount of money some parents have to pay especially when their wards are in the private schools. Some parents are not able to pay their children’s fees even when they are in the public school because of one problem or the other. 

Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education

What would the school authorities do when they meet challenges like this? What are parents also doing to make sure their children are not sent home for their inability to pay their fees?

Most schools are in their mid-term while others have already returned from their mid-term holidays and are preparing towards their end of term examination. 


Notices are given to parents before the mid-term holidays to make full payment of their wards’ school fees before the end of the term, but most pupils or students will not be able to finish paying their fees and this is the time students are beaten and sent home from school until they finish paying the rest of their fees.

The question then is; will beating and sending the children home make them pay the fees? The children are not responsible for paying their fees, so why should they suffer the consequences? Most teachers give their reason as, ‘the children will remind their parents of their fees when they feel the pains from the beatings or are made to go home for their fees during school hours’.

What if their parents do not get the money to make full payment of the fees, will the children continue to face those punishments all alone? It’s funny though, but why won’t the authorities of the schools beat the parents rather for their inability to pay their children’s fees? Why the children?

It is true that the Ghanaian child will not do the right thing until the cane is used but does the beating solve the problems. 


Ghanaian children have become used to the canes and do not do the right thing until they see a teacher or master with a cane. 


They even wait to feel the touch of the cane on their bodies before they do the right thing.

Sending children home for their school fees make their parents dip their hands into their pockets to bring out everything in it to pay their wards’ fees. 


It makes the parents alert on issues concerning their wards in terms of paying their fees, buying of their books and paying for their canteen, but have the school authorities thought of the dangers the children are exposed to when they are sacked home for their fees?

Parents must know that it is their responsibility to ensure that their children have quality education and it is the right of the child to go to school. 


While some parents try their possible best in making sure that their children get the best of tuition, others do not find it necessary sending their children to school and paying their fees even when they have the money to do that. 


They take their children to school because they have to be there, but paying for their fees and other things do not become a bother to them. So how do parents feel when their children are sent home for their fees?

Children sacked from schools use their time for things which will not be beneficial to them, their family and the nation as a whole. 


Some of them end up on the street using their money given to them by their parents to play games and wait until school time is over so they can join their friends to go back to their various homes while others become drop-out when their parents find it difficult paying their fees.

Some children do not only become drop-out when their parents find it difficult paying their fees, but because they feel shy to be among their peers when they have to be sacked almost everyday for their fees. 


This is one reason for the increase in child streetism in the country of late.

It is so sad to see children walking up and down the streets during school hours because they have been sent home for the rest of their fees. 


These children are sometimes knocked down by vehicles when they have to cross the road before reaching their various destinations.

Just recently in Kasoa in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region, an eight year old class three pupil in one of the well-known schools in the community was knocked down by a taxi on his way home after he had been sacked for fees. It was fortunate the little boy was not hurt. This and other dangerous incidents happen mostly in our communities.

Who would be blamed if the boy had died or seriously injured - The school authorities for sending the boy home for fees, or the parents for not paying their child’s fees, or is it the boy for not reminding his parents to pay his fees or is the taxi driver’s fault for not being careful while driving? Who is to blame?

Some children end up at the sea shore, market places and others places gallivanting aimlessly and playing among themselves on dangerous roads when they are sent home for not making full payment of their fees.

Sending children or students home for their school fees will not only solve the problems but will expose them to some dangers. School authorities must find some measures in making sure that parents pay their wards fees before the end of the term. 


This will help both the child and school and even save the parents from the trouble of thinking of where and how they are going to pay their ward’s fees.

The school can make paying of children’s fees flexible and convenient for parents by giving them an amount to pay at the end of every week so they can be able to make the full payment of their wards’ fees before the term ends.

Another measure in making sure parents pay their wards fees or students reminding their parents of their fees is by not allowing them to be in the classroom, but staying outside the classroom on the school compound like some schools have been doing. This will prevent the students from taking part in class activities. 


It will also make them remind their parents of their school fees because they wouldn’t want to go to school and sit outside their classrooms while their colleagues stay in the classrooms learning.

We should all know that giving our children the best of education will enable them become someone great in future to benefit both our family and Mother Ghana. 


Let us all try to understand the value of education. Children are the future leaders of our country and without education, there will be no future for them.