Teachers in some basic and senior high schools across the country yesterday abandoned the classrooms on day two of an indefinite strike declared by three teacher unions last Friday.
The three unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-Ghana) over government’s failure to meet their November 4, 2022, deadline to terminate the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah as the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The unions said that Dr Nkansah was a banker and not a professional teacher and that was contrary to the substantive and procedural rules of the Collective Agreement 2020.
ABIGAIL ARTHUR reports that the Dansoman 1 and 2 and the Sempe 1 and 2 Basic Schools in Accra, pupils were left to their fate, idling away or playing on their school compounds, with some heading home.
At the two schools, a teacher who gave her name as Betty told the Ghanaian Times that they were simply obeying orders from their unions to stay off the classrooms until otherwise advised.
“It must be stated that the Director-General position is the preserve of Educationists and has been occupied by them as such since its creation in 1974,” a teacher said.
We have been compelled under the current circumstances to publicly communicate to Ghanaians on our intension to go on stroke having reached the November 4 deadline we gave government,” she said.
CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, reports from the Western Region twin-city that
teaching and learning was absent at the Ketan Catholic School as not a single teacher was spotted as of 7.30am yesterday.
Similar situation was observed at Anglican School at Sekondi and Presby School, Baidoe Addo Methodist, Catholic School and All Saints Anglican Schools, all in Takoradi.
At about 8.05am the situation was the same at Bethel and Baidoo Addo, students were present, but, no effective teaching and learning went on. Others were also engaged in conversations or extra curricula activities.
“We just got the message on Friday, and so we will stay at home, the head teachers will mark the register and dismiss the students,’ another teacher said.
DAVID O. YARBOI-TETTEH reports from the Central Regional capital Cape Coast that pupils in the Mensah Sabbah and St. Michael basic schools and other areas such as Kwanyako Methodist basic school in the Agona East District had to return home after being informed of the teachers strike.
Most of them were either playing on the school playgrounds while others were watching television in the staff common room.
St Augustine’s College and Adisadel College had same situation.
In TAMALE, the Northern Regional capital, Kukuo AME, SDA, Tishigu Anglican junior high schools as well as Bethany, Dakpema and Sakaafat Islamic Primary and junior high had no teachers around as they also joined their collegues in observing the strike.
Master Alhassan Aslam of SDA Junior High School expressed his displeasure at the teachers for not informing them on Friday not to come to school on Monday.
“We were with them here on Friday and they never disclosed to us that coming Monday they won’t be school,” he added.
At the Wa Senior High Technical School, in the Upper West Regional capital, LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR discovered that administrative staff were present and at their offices but the teachers were not in the classrooms to deliver lessons.
Students were however, seen in their classrooms revising their lessons in a comported manner.
A teacher on condition of anonymity said that the strike was not only for their welfare but also for the children as well as a director who was familiar with the affairs of the GES would put in place measures that would inure to the benefit of the teachers and students alike.
He was less confident that the negotiation earlier in the day between government and the teacher unions would yield any substantive results as he feared the leadership would be tempted to compromise to issues instead of insisting on the right thing to be done.
BY TIMES REPORTERS
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