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  pilottested  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.