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1. WHAT IS THE CLAHINA SCHOOL PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION?
The association is a formal body that is composed of parents, teachers, and staff that is
intended to facilitate parental participation in a school. Its role is to encourage closer links
between home and school. PTAs are best known for their fundraising work, but they have
a useful social function too. Fundraising events provide an opportunity for parents, staff
and pupils to get together.
All parents who have a child enrolled at CLAHINA School and all staff working at the
school are automatically members of the PTA.
It is planned that after operating on a more informal basis, the CLAHINA School PTA will
formally be registered with the Registrar of Societies in due course.
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CLAHINA SCHOOL PARENT-TEACHER
ASSOCIATION?
The PTA works closely with the school community and administration to promote and
support the school. The actual activities of the Association are listed below:
 Supporting learning through local and international educational field trips. This
includes scheduled annual excursions by various grades as well as tours by School
Clubs to foreign countries
 Organizing social events that bring the school community together, e.g. games.
 Fundraising activities that benefit the pupils and teachers of CLAHINA School.
 Assisting Families through the sponsorship of needy children under the PTA
Benevolent Fund.
 Promoting Community Service by funding child-centered visits to less privileged and
vulnerable members of our society.
 Playing an important role in helping parents get to know each other and enhance a
sense of community.
 Rewarding child performance as requested by the School Management and
 Supporting teacher-centered effort as requested by the School Management, for
instance, contribution towards prizes for the best achieving teachers of the year.
WHAT ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS DOES THE PTA USUALLY HOLD?
 The Academic Fundraising Exercising in Term I , One Civilian Day each term
 Family Fun Fair in Term III
 Other fund-raising events and activities

2. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR ACTIVITIES OF THE PTA?
 Provision of buses to transport pupils on daily basis and educational tours and field
trips
 Successful annual fundraising events
 Sponsorship of learners in need by the PTA Benevolent Fund Sub-committee
 Financial support for annual Educational Tours for Grades 6, 7, 9 and 12
 Financial support for Club members’ foreign trips.
 Support for the annual Prize giving ceremony, and the Grade 7 and Nursery
Graduation Luncheon
 Organization of social games for parents and teachers
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST EACH FAMILY?
There is an annual fee payable by each member family, and the amounts of contribution
are set at the Annual General Meeting
 Membership Fees are payable termly and currently set at K70.00 per family.
 Bus Fund is levied at three hundred sixty Kwacha (K360.00) per family divided into
three terms. This goes towards payments of leases as well as maintenance and
insurance of the buses and trailers
 There is also fifty Kwacha (K50.00) per child contributed towards the Benevolent
Fund each term.
WHAT DO MEMBERS DELIBERATE ON AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING?
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the PTA is normally held each year towards the
end of February. Notice of the Annual General Meeting is sent to parents seven clear days
before the actual day.
 Minutes of the preceding year’s Annual General Meeting
 Chairperson’s Report to members
 Audited Accounts of the Association
 Treasurer’s Report and Annual Budget for the coming year
 Any other PTA Matter
 Election of members of the Executive Committee
ARE THERE OTHER MEETINGS HELD APART FROM THE ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING?

3. YES! THERE ARE OTHER MEETINGS HELD ACROSS THE YEAR
 Extra-ordinary General and Special Task Meetings for selected parents are held when
necessary.
 The Executive Committee of the PTA meets once each month and whenever there
are matters to discuss. The Executive Committee also holds special meetings to
prepare for fundraising events and important meetings, such as the Annual General
Meeting.
 Parents Consultative Committee Meetings held to gain the views and input of
parents and guardians on specific issues affecting the School community
WHO GOVERNS THE CLAHINA SCHOOL PTA?
Responsibility for managing the affairs of the CLAHINA School PTA falls in the hands of
the Executive Committee. The committee is made up of parent and teacher
representatives.
Parent members
 Chairman
 Vice chairman
 Treasurer
 Vice-Treasurer
 Two Committee Members
Teacher members
 School Manager acts as Secretary of the Parent-Teacher Association
 Senior Teacher from the Primary Section of the School
 A teacher Representative (representing teachers in the Primary Section of the
school)
 A teacher Representative (representing teachers in the Nursery Section of the
school)
Elections to the Executive Committee are held on the day of the Annual General Meeting.
Parents elected to the Executive Committee can only serve for a maximum of two PTA
years. Members of the teaching team serve a maximum of one year due to their Academic
Work.
SO WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PTA AND THE OWNERS OF THE
SCHOOL?

4. CLAHINA School is owned and operated by CLAHINA Schools Limited. Day to day
management is in the hands of the Executive Management Team, which reports to the
company’s Board of Directors. The EMT is responsible for management functions such as
budgeting and financial management, fees, employment and Human Resource functions,
as well as strategic planning and control. The Head teacher is in charge of the Academic
team and supported by the two deputy heads and the Heads of Department.
Despite that, having a functioning and contributive PTA in a private school such as ours
could have posed certain challenges in terms of defining roles and responsibilities, we are
very pleased that over the years, a positive working relationship has evolved between the
school management and our PTA. Issues such as respective roles, responsibilities and
indeed, boundaries have been clarified.
The Board and Management of CLAHINA School understand how valuable it is for parents
to become part of school life and the PTA encourages and supports the participation of
all parents to share their experiences, knowledge and talents to help enrich the school’s
environment for our children. In this regard, the Board and Executive Management Team
(EMT) act by providing logistical support and facilitation of the PTA’s work.
This ranges from the Secretarial duties carried out by the Head Teacher, all the way to the
Financial Accounting and Reporting work for the PTA done by the School Accounts
Department.