Sahel EDU

Managing the parent association’s levies with full transparency

The levies paid to the parent-teacher association (PTA, known in French as the APEE) often fund very concrete needs: part-time teachers, small equipment, ceremonies, upkeep. For parents to agree to pay, the money must be kept apart from the school’s, received against a numbered document and spent on a decision of the executive. This guide gives the method, useful with or without software.

What PTA levies are and who decides them

According to the texts and press articles consulted, PTA levies are voluntary contributions whose amount the texts do not set: it is voted by the parents meeting in general assembly. The exact rules change, and they should be checked with the supervising education office before each school year.

Two principles recur from one source to another. The association’s money is managed by its executive, not by the head of school. And a student must not be sent away from school for lack of a levy, as education officials have recalled in the press.

The amount and its use are decided by the general assembly of parents.
The executive (chairperson, treasurer, secretary) manages the funds.
The head of school is a partner, not the manager of the funds.
Refusing or delaying a levy leads neither to exclusion nor to marks being withheld.

A cash box kept apart from the school’s

The first rule is never to mix the two. Levies do not go into the school fees cash box and do not pay the school’s expenses, unless the assembly decides so in writing.

This separation protects both sides: the school is not accused of diverting parents’ money, and the association can prove at any moment what it holds.

A register or account of the association’s own, with its opening balance.
A separate strongbox or bank account, never the school’s.
Supporting documents filed by date and sorted by type of expense.
A balance checked every month by someone who does not keep the cash.

Collecting with numbered receipts

Every levy received gives rise to a counterfoil receipt, numbered without gaps, in the name of the family and the student, with the date, the amount in figures and in words, and the treasurer’s signature.

A counterfoil book or a register numbered in advance.
A receipt handed over at every payment, never later.
A cancelled receipt stays in the book, crossed out with the reason.
The total collected matched to the receipts at the end of every week.
An up-to-date list of members, to answer families’ questions.

Spending on a voted budget with two signatures

The general assembly votes a budget for the year: the expected income, then the planned spending line by line (part-time teachers, upkeep, ceremonies, supplies). In public schools the association often funds part-time teachers, which makes this discipline all the more necessary.

Each expense rests on an invoice or a signed acknowledgement and on the signatures of two members of the executive. Spending outside the budget calls for a prior decision of the executive.

A budget line by line, voted before the first expenses.
Two signatures for any payment above a threshold set in advance.
A supporting document for every cash payment out.
Follow-up of planned and actual spending line by line.

Reporting to parents

Trust is earned by regular reports. A simple report, presented to the general assembly and posted up, is enough: what came in, what went out, what remains and what it made possible to fund.

A quarterly update lets parents ask questions before rumours settle in.

Total levies received and the number of families that paid.
Spending line by line, compared with the budget.
Balance of the cash box on the date of the report.
Signed minutes of the assembly approving the accounts.

With Sahel EDU: a separate cash box for the PTA

Sahel EDU lets a school keep separate cash boxes, including the PTA’s, apart from the school fees cash box. Each cash box has its budget for the year, with planned lines, and its expenses are filed line by line to compare planned and actual spending. A cancelled expense keeps its reason and is never deleted.

A quarterly PTA report is prepared from these entries. The PTA executive has read-only access, to see without changing anything. The platform does not replace the general assembly or the decisions of the executive: it keeps the record of amounts and spending.

A separate cash box, apart from the school fees cash box.
A budget for the year by line, with planned and actual figures.
A cancelled expense with its reason, never deleted.
Read-only access for the PTA executive.

Frequently asked questions

What does APEE mean?

It is the parents’ association found in Cameroon’s schools, known in English as the PTA. It brings parents together around the school and funds some needs through levies.

Can the head of school manage the PTA’s money?

According to the sources consulted, the funds are managed by the association’s executive, not by the head of school. Check the current rule with your education office.

Can a report card be withheld if the parents have not paid the PTA levy?

A voluntary levy must not penalise the student. In Sahel EDU, the PTA cash box is separate from school fees, and the report card rule applies only to the amount the school itself has due.

What receipt should be given for a levy?

A receipt numbered without gaps, dated, with the amount in figures and in words and the treasurer’s signature, handed over when the payment is made.

Can I try this separate cash box?

Yes. The free trial lasts 30 days, with no commitment. The price is then negotiated with each school and can be read on the Pricing page.

Try Sahel EDU for free

Try Sahel EDU free for 30 days, no commitment. Afterwards, the price is negotiated with your school and confirmed in writing.

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