The participation of school management committee and parents teacher association in the administration of basic Schools in Obuasi municipality

Abstract

The study was conducted to find out whether the School Management Committee (SMC) or Parent Teacher Association participated in basic school administration to improve education. The study was carried out in the basic schools of the Obuasi Municipality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.The respondents who were community members, SMC members, PTA members teachers, head teachers, and parents were randomly sampled for the research. In all, the researcher visited 100 schools to administer the questionnaire with the help of head teachers and teachers. Distribution of sample for the study included 250 teachers and 50 parents, making a total of 300 respondents. Prepared questionnaire for collection of data from respondents consisted of closed-ended items. The questionnaire was pilot-tested in four basic schools because of proximity and also due to similar characteristics of the schools to those selected for the study. The pilot-test assisted in removing ambiguities from the questionnaire. The responses were analyzed using frequencies and percentages.The findings of the study show that the SMC and the PTA participated in the administration of basic schools in Obuasi Municipality by taking part in decision-making, providing school furniture and repairing broken down ones. Community members were active in school programmes by providing furniture and attending PTA and SMC meetings.Among the recommendations made were that the PTA should regularly visit the school to monitor children’s performance. The parent should help teachers by providing them with accommodation. The SMC should resolve problems of teachers and pupils in order to support the school to progress academically.