The Ghana Education Service (GES) has signalled plans to review how textbooks are managed in Senior High Schools following concerns raised at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over unreturned books at Nsawora Community SHS in the Western North Region.
The matter came up during the Committee’s sitting in Kumasi on Thursday, April 23, 2026, when the school appeared to respond to infractions cited in the Auditor-General’s report.
According to the report, 158 textbooks issued to students had not been retrieved. School authorities, however, explained that the old students who failed to return borrowed textbooks while in school are required to do so before they can access their certificates and testimonials.
The Headmaster, Francis Obeng, told the Committee that the school has so far retrieved 20 of the books.
A member of the Committee and MP for Jirapa, Cletus Seidu Dapilah, cautioned that relying on certificates and testimonials as leverage may not be effective, as some former students may never return to collect them.
“There are many students who will never come for their testimonial or certificate but they will carry textbooks away. If you are waiting for them to come for testimonials and certificates before you retrieve them, you will wait forever,” he said.
Responding to the situation, GES Deputy Director-General in charge of Quality and Access, Dr. Munawaru Issahaque, assured the Committee that steps are being taken to address the situation.
He disclosed that a high-level meeting involving key stakeholders will be convened to review administrative guidelines on the management of school property.
“Four people will be involved here. I will inform my immediate supervisor the Director General and also link up with the Free Senior High School Coordinator so that we meet the Minister for Education to reflect on administrative guideline for handling school property. The heads are active enough to be able to take action,” he said
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