THE National President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Joseph Adjei, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to review the quota system policy on study leave to enable more teachers who pursued further studies to be re-absorbed into the system on completion of their courses.
If the policy is relaxed, he said, it would help solve the problem of acute shortage of qualified teachers, particularly for the sciences, English Language and technical subjects in schools.
Speaking at the opening of the third quadrennial Northern Regional Delegates Conference of GNAT in Tamale at the weekend, Mr Adjei suggested to the GES to ensure that qualified teachers who were denied postings because they pursued various courses at the universities without seeking permission under the system were re-absorbed to curb the situation.
He stressed the need for the Government and the GES to review the policy and tap the full potential of the affected teachers who are currently “languishing at home”.
The conference discussed, among other issues, salaries and conditions of service, creation of new district secretariats, education and professional development and the election of new regional executives.
The conference was on the theme “Challenges to education delivery in Northern Ghana”.
According to the president, 567 graduate teachers who completed their studies and duly submitted their posting forms to the GES, were denied the chance to teach.
The explanation, he noted, was that their names were deleted from the pay roll when they were pursuing their courses and, therefore, on completion of their courses, they could not be posted, he pointed out.
Mr Adjei expressed concern about the low responsibility allowances paid to teachers, and entreated the Government to take a critical look at the allowances.
He mentioned political interference in certain areas of the GES, delayed emoluments and problems with upward adjustment in salaries as issues that needed to be addressed urgently.
The Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Mabengba, observed that conflicts in the north had in one way or the other affected educational development.
According to the minister, it was imperative for the Regional Co-ordinating Council to team up with traditional rulers, the GES and civil society groups to educate the people to halt conflicts and whip up communal spirit.
The Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU), Mr Ralph Apaaya, hoped the conference would help resolve issues relating to harmonious working relationship between employers and employees.
No comments:
Post a Comment