Teachers promotion examination: We deserve better - Teacher Unions

Three Pre-Education Teachers' Unions have called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to restructure the Teachers' Promotion Examination to bring dignity and respect to the profession.

The Unions, GNAT, National Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers–Ghana (CCT-GH), also urged the GES to solve their complaints by September 2021.

Mr Thomas T. Musah, the General Secretary of GNAT, told a press conference that the issue of promotion had provoked the rank and file of teachers.

“We deserve better treatment than the way we are being treated. Enough of the respect…it is deeply worrying and so demoralizing watching a professionally trained teacher weep uncontrollably for promotion,” he said.

“A country where there is no motivation and recognition for teachers has a herculean problem,” he added.

On transfer of teachers in Special Schools, the Unions said they were surprised at the decision by the Management of the GES to transfer all teachers teaching in special schools because of a problem in a single special school.

“We, therefore, called on the GES to suspend the action as the ramification of a mass and nationwide transfer, singling out one group of Teachers is not only discriminatory but also wrong,” Mr Musah added.

On appointments, Mr Musah said: “We do not understand why GES has decided not to consider teachers working in the District and Regional Education Offices as Heads and Assistant Heads of Schools.

“The justification for this decision is not known to all stakeholders and we call for the suspension of the policy until a thorough discussion on the issue is done,” he said.

The Unions also called on GES to stop the signing of the performance contracts with Heads of institutions until it was discussed with Unions.

“This is unacceptable because the Unions do not know the details and the implications of the contract”.

Other grievances of the Unions include increased contract and working hours without compensating the affected teachers, failure to provide teaching and learning resources to teachers and pupils to improve quality of education and delay in upgrading teachers who financed themselves to acquire degrees and those who have completed their study leave with pay.

There are also issues of failure to pay responsibility allowance to deserving teachers, and other benefits and allowances such as car maintenance, rent advance, allowances for teachers in deprived/difficult areas and additional duty allowance, among others.

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