Despite efforts made by the government to achieve a universal basic education for all by 2015, as enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals, the lack of transparency in the financial management of basic schools in the country has been identified as a setback to quality education delivery. This was included in the findings of a report made by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local Chapter of Transparency International, under its African Education Watch (AEU) Project. The report represents a regional overview of accountability and transparency in primary education management in seven African countries - Ghana, Morocco, Niger, Uganda, Senegal, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone. The Africa Education Watch is Transparency International's contribution towards solving the problems in the education sector in Africa, with particular focus on primary education. The AEU highlights abusive demands for fees that by law have been abolished, embezzlement of resources, and abuse of power by teachers or officials, as the three most common corrupt practices in primary school administration in the countries surveyed. In Ghana, for example, 526 respondents, representing 51 % of the total respondents, reported that their children had received stationery, and out of this number, 36 paid for them. However, the highest amount paid per child to their schools during the period under review was below US $10 dollars (GH¢14.00), this according to the report, was mainly due to budget shortfalls, sometimes forcing schools to demand such fees. Ghana, like many other African countries, has subjects its education management to structural changes to bring it closer to the user, and to give citizens at the local level (particularly parents) a greater stake in its management. The aim is to increase accountability and fiscal management, oversight and responsiveness. But, the report indicates that members of these bodies, such as the Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and School Management Committees (SMCs), are given limited financial management training and support, which raises serious questions about their ability to fulfil their role of planning and monitoring school resources. The survey further showed that only 27% of parents reported that it was easy to know how much resources were allocated to the primary schools of their wards. This, according to the report, was confirmed by 82% of the school heads, who agreed that parents needed to have access to the budget and expenditure of schools. The report revealed further that although all the schools surveyed in the country had SMCs, some established as far back as 2005, most of them were ineffective and non-functional. The report however, advocated for more sensitisation of parents, particularly, members of the SMCs and executive members of the PTAs, on their rights and roles in school management,so as to enable them participate more actively in school management. Additionally, the report recommended among others, the training of SMC members in basic planning and financial management to contribute to school plans and track the application of school resources to reduce leakages. Source: Chronicle