The Ghana Education Service (GES) has inaugurated Educational Procurement and Supply Chain Officers to help supervise, approve purchases, maintain positive supplier relations and maintain accurate records in the various schools across the country.
The role of the Educational Procurement and Supply Chain Officers is to coordinate purchasing, warehousing, distribution and activities to limit costs and improve accuracy in the Ghana Education Service.
Speaking on behalf of the National Director of the GES during the inauguration ceremony in the Eastern region, Mrs Margaret Nsiah Asamoah, the Eastern Regional Director of Education, urged the educational procurement and supply chain officers to unite as an association and deliver the best service in the educational fraternity.
She also charged them to do their work as professionals and discard favouritism in their role to protect the reputation of the Ghana Education Service.
Addressing them on the theme: “The vital role of supply officers in the Ghana Education Service and their challenges”, Madam Margaret Nsiah Asamoah revealed that effective material management is indispensable and vital for the realization of quality teaching and learning as well as improvement in academic standard.
She, however, outlined some roles by supply officers indicating that they are responsible for the supply of units within the service which includes; receiving supplies into the stores, authorization of issues, inspecting goods, issuing vouchers as well as receipts before acceptance into stores.
She added that supply officers are to update and keep accurate stock records and prepare for distribution schedules for approval by their heads of institutions.
Margaret Nsiah Asamoah indicated that the good work of the supply officers is enabled by some challenges that need to be tackled to ensure the effectiveness of the association.
“Over inadequate storage facilities in some educational institutions as it put supply officers under stress as far as the safety of the logistics is concerned. The free Senior High School Policy has doubled the work of supply officers as they have to work for several hours including weekends” she stressed.
Madam Nsiah Asamoah called on the government and other relevant stakeholders to come to the aid of the Association to help curtail these challenges by providing more storage facilities and employing more hands.
She advised them to avoid mediocrity and dishonesty to enable the association to stand firm in the country and again entreated them to upgrade themselves due to the advancement of modern technology to attain a higher height as an association.
Speaking to the press after the inauguration ceremony, the Chairman of the Association of Educational Procurement and Supply Chain Officers, Mr Samuel Boamah Safo promised that the team will ensure development and progress in the various schools in the country.
He assured that supply chain officers in the Ghana Education Service will play their role effectively to support measures being put in place by the government to promote teaching and learning in the academic field.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Solomon Nartey
