The government is not being fair to newly-trained teachers who have been sent to various locations since February 2022, according to Albert Dadson Amoah, General Secretary of the All Teachers Alliance (ATAG).
Six months later, he claims, the teachers have yet to get their identity numbers, much alone go to the ministry of finance to have their biometrics taken for future salary payments.
“In times when public sector workers are crying for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), the government has largely remained deaf ear to all appeals,” Mr Amoah, said in a statement.
Read Also: Intensify COVID-19 vaccination again – GMA urges amidst surge in cases
He added “Sadly, we have left these young professionals to struggle in the face of general hardships prevailing in the country. Some of them can hardly meet their daily upkeep whilst others are resorting to excessive borrowing to survive. This is affecting them both psychologically and economically and affecting their quality of state of mind.
“Many of these young professionals are starving at their various stations and the level of economic and psychological torture is unbearable for them. It is sad teacher unions had remained silent knowing very well that it is not easy for these young ones. Since 2017, newly trained teachers had been paid three months after postings, so what is going on this time around?”
The complete statement is below…
PRESS RELEASE:
07/06/2022
THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT BEING FAIR WITH THE NEWLY POSTED TEACHERS – ALL TEACHERS ALLIANCE GHANA (ATAG)
We want to state that the government of Ghana is not being fair with the newly trained teachers who had been posted to various places of their service since February 2022. Six months down the line, these newly trained teachers are yet to receive their identification numbers and let alone go to the ministry of finance to take their biometrics for onward payment of salary. In times when public sector workers are crying for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), the government has largely remained deaf ear to all appeals.
Sadly, we have left these young professionals to struggle in the face of general hardships prevailing in the country. Some of them can hardly meet their daily upkeep whilst others are resorting to excessive borrowing to survive. This is affecting them both psychologically and economically and affecting their quality of state of mind. Many of these young professionals are starving at their various stations and the level of economic and psychological torture is unbearable for them. It is sad teacher unions had remained silent knowing very well that it is not easy for these young ones. Since 2017, newly trained teachers had been paid three months after postings, so what is going on this time around?
The government’s call for quality education will virtually become a mirage because it lacks the necessary urgency toward pressing issues that confront the sector. Educational policies and infrastructure development cannot alone give us the necessary positive impact if we treat teachers with this level of contempt. All the good efforts of the government towards achieving world-class educational quality and meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 will crumble when teachers are treated as an afterthought in policy making and implementation.
We appeal to GES and the Ministry of Education, with all due respect, to as a matter of urgency, attend to the predicaments of these newly trained teachers who had been left hopeless and suffering in their various stations. Government should not wait to hear some of them lose their lives out of frustrations or sinking into perpetual desperation before moving to their rescue. The country’s economic situation is not good for every public sector worker and if we should leave these new professionals in their current situation, we deny them their rights and treat them unfairly for no fault of theirs. The government had no justification whatsoever to say he has no money to pay these newly posted trained teachers on time rather than leaving them suffering against their will. We maintain that it is not fair.
…Signed…
Albert Dadson Amoah
General Secretary
0509639374 /0249403277/ 0543981951
SOURCE: 3NEWS
