Hon. Clement Abas Apaak, Member of Parliament for Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Education has expressed concern about the prolonged strike by the College of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and its impact on students.
He urged the government once more to fulfill its commitments to the lecturers, enabling them to resume teaching and return to the classroom.
“Our College of Education Lecturers [CETAG] have been on strike since the 14th of June 2024, and there seems to be no end in sight”.
“According to CETAG, the strike has been occasioned by a number of factors. However, the bone of contention is the refusal of the employer [government] to implement an arbitration award granted to CETAG by the NLC in relation to the transition from diploma awarding teacher training colleges, five years ago, to degree awarding colleges of education”.
Hon. Clement Abas Apaak
Hon. Apaak warned that if the stalemate persists, it will inevitably hinder the students’ progress and throw the academic calendar into disarray, causing significant disruptions to the educational schedule.
He lamented that the CETAG strike has brought academic activities at colleges of education to a halt, leaving students idle and uncertain about their academic future, especially freshers.
Meanwhile, the strike has disrupted the submission of project work for level 400 trainees, a crucial requirement for their Supported Teaching in Schools (STS) program, stalling the building of their portfolios essential for their future careers.
As such, Hon. Apaak noted that the government’s reluctance to address CETAG’s concerns has far-reaching implications, affecting not only students but also the country’s education system as a whole.
He warned that the current situation could establish a troubling pattern for the future.
GTEC Defends Withholding CETAG Members’ July Salaries
The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has justified its instruction to the Controller and Accountants General to withhold the July salaries of College of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) members, citing reasons for this action.
According to Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, Director General of GTEC, the decision to freeze salaries was a necessary response to CETAG members’ refusal to confirm their attendance at work, making the withholding of their July pay a reasonable and expected outcome.
“Well, I think it’s based on logic, as you’re aware, CETAG has not been in the classroom since June 14. Today is July 23, that is more than a month and in this country, we use what we call a salary. You need to be validated before you are paid, and that validation is informed by your presence at your workplace”.
“So by logic, it means that they cannot be validated. So the reason why they are not being paid their July salary is because they are not at post and it’s a very simple, straightforward answer. So I want to use this podium or this medium to retreat the call on CETAG for them to call off their strike”.
Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai
Prof Abdulai made a further plea to the striking teachers, urging them to resume teaching, as the government is actively working to address and implement all the outstanding demands of the CETAG.
According to him, the crux of the matter for CETAG members is the perceived discrimination they are likely to face regarding their migration to the new salary structure.
He explained that CETAG’s concern stems from the fact that some members will be transitioned to the university scheme of service, while others will remain on the harmonized scheme of service for colleges of education, creating a disparity among members.
“This is not going to happen, all staff and faculty are going to be migrated onto the scheme of service of their affiliate universities”. – Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai
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