The Government’s decision to introduce Parents Teachers Associations (PTA) in schools countrywide is commendable and must be embraced by everyone — teachers, parents and students. Usually, PTAs make parents aware of the cost of running their school and get them involved in meeting some of these costs by paying a certain amount of money, on top of the normal school fees. The money collected from the parents is then used to supplement teachers’ salaries, buy text books, produce teaching materials and take care of emergencies. A case in point is Efotec School of Excellence which attributes its success to the Parents Teachers Association which was introduced in 2005. But more importantly, through PTA meetings, parents are able to understand the difficulties which some children face. Parents are able to the see the importance of following up their children at home because they know the particular difficulties which their children are encountering at school. Research and case studies show that schools where parents are closely involved tend to have better teachers, perform better and generally there is discipline and accountability in such schools. A look at Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Kenya for instance clearly allays any fears about the programme. However, if PTAs are to achieve their goal, teachers and parents must take them seriously. If there is a meeting and teachers skip it or vice versa, the students performance and teachers welfare will be affected. An active association is good for all the stakeholders, let’s start the journey now.
