All Teachers Alliance Ghana (ATAG) has intimated that the condition of service of teachers is worsening under the current economic turbulences in the country.
Pointing out some issues in the education sector in a statement, ATAG stated that teachers are the most affected professionals in these hard and crucial times.
According to ATAG, apart from salaries, teachers do not receive any form of allowances to boost their motivation.
“Teachers solely depend on their salaries to rent, pay utilities and cater for their families. The current salary rate of teachers is nothing good to write home about and many teachers are struggling to make ends meet amidst the economic crisis.”
ATAG
ATAG touching on other concerns indicated that it is becoming frustrating to hear government’s continuous promise to secure housing policies for teachers in the country.
According to ATAG, the current government through President Nana Addo had made four key promises on housing since 2017 but there are no policy directions to give hope to teachers that these promises are feasible.
The group averred that already, teacher’s conditions of service are poor and the collective bargaining agreement signed between the Unions and government is begging for implementation.
ATAG stated that it becomes mind-boggling for the government to promise housing units in the vacuum without evidence of commitment towards the good scheme.
“We want to remind teachers that the bargaining agreement that is binding their employment is dormant and just paperwork. Until the government begins to take that document seriously and do everything written in there, we cannot assimilate further promises from him.”
ATAG
Pre-tertiary unions not committed
All Teachers Alliance Ghana mentioned that the other three pre-tertiary teacher unions led by GNAT had proven beyond all doubt that they are not committed in any way towards seeking the best interest of teachers in the country. ATAG revealed that there have been countless instances where teacher unions led by GNAT had issued joint communication demanding certain actions from the government.
“What we have realized is that these communiques are only meant to appease the anger of members.”
ATAG
Again, ATAG stated that the ever-controversial TM1 laptop issue is still not “going to sleep soon”. The group reminded the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) that the battle to get quality stuff for teachers continues unabated and they should not rejoice over a certain court decision.
“We do not want to preempt the court, but we want to send a signal to them that the judgment gotten by KA Technologies at court can never be the true reflection of the pending matters.”
ATAG
ATAG expressed concerns about what it calls political interference in Ghana’s educational system. The group noted that the interference is hurting education in Ghana hence must stop.
The Alliance posited that it believes Ghana’s education system has suffered in the last two decades because of lack of policy direction and incessant interference by politicians.
This, according to ATAG, is affecting the teaching and learning environment with teachers being the least considered in all these policies. The Alliance stated that the teachers are only left to implement them without clear direction or motivation.
“We ask, how can we improve teaching and learning if teachers are not considered in policy decisions? For us, in the All Teachers Alliance Ghana, we will continue to raise the issues and ensure that government and all stakeholders pay rapt attention to current happening in our educational sector and to find a lasting solution to ever polluting educational environment due to lack of policy direction and political interferences.”
ATAG
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