The National Council of Parent-Teacher Association (NCPTA) has called on government to show leadership in face of striking pre-tertiary teachers’ unions.

According to the Association, the stalemate on the government-teacher unions’ meetings held on the 5th and 8th of July could signal a protracted process “if leadership is not shown by all stakeholders”.

Contained in a press statement, the NCPTA revealed that following the strike, contact hours for learning have reduced generally. It indicated that final year students of public Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools may not complete their syllabi before their respective WAEC examinations. NCPTA, expresses that the “finalists’ situation could worsen since their batch was severely affected by the COVID-19 restrictions”.

“The NCPTA believes government has the capacity and capability to resolve it and must show leadership now.”
NCPTA

Commenting on the impact of the inherent laxity and lack of supervision in schools due to the strike, the Association expressed that “some of the little ones have begun hurting” themselves at school. It highlighted that feeding in the boarding schools has become a “huge challenge if not in crisis” due to union members being prevented from providing food to students.

The NCPTA conceded to the fact that the demand for a 20% cost-of-living-allowance is justified considering the circumstances. It stated that taking into consideration the high cost of living and the dire economic situation, “parents are appealing to our noble teachers to consider their students’ plight especially the final years and the nation’s economic situation and meet government half way for speedy resolution of the matter”.

“We know of the difficulty on the part of government, but there is always a middle way out of such situations and therefore, we urge government to treat the resolution of the Unions’ demand and subsequent strike as an emergency situation.”
NCPTA

Addressing the demands of teachers

To resolve the challenges, NCPTA urged government to “leave no stone unturned to exploit the middle way out” of the situation. This it emphasized, is to help deal expeditiously with the matter for industrial peace and harmony to return.

Additionally, the Association appealed to all stakeholders involved to speed up negotiations for an acceptable outcome in order to mitigate the effects, both immediate and remote, on the students’ academic performance.

“In view of the above mentioned effects, particularly, the safety of the little ones and the food crisis, we are appealing to the protagonists not to drag issues for the sake of mother Ghana.”
NCPTA

Meanwhile, the Association is calling on the Ghana Education Service to temporarily shut down schools if the strike is going to be prolonged.

Prior to this, President Akufo-Addo pleaded with the striking teachers to return to the classroom while negotiations continue with the government.

Speaking at this year’s Eid-al-Adha celebration at Independence Square, the President appealed to the teachers to reconsider their decision for the sake of the students.

He also urged Ghanaians to bear with the government through turbulent times considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.