The Minority in Parliament has served notice it will challenge the Pre-Tertiary Bill in the Supreme Court.
The provision in the Bill prompting this action has to do with the redefining of Basic Education to include Secondary Level Education.
The Minority in a statement contended that this is “a violation of Article 25 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”
“The public is informed that the Minority is strongly opposed to this provision in the Bill and will seek Supreme Court interpretation of Article 25,” the statement added.
In what it described as “a contradictory policy initiative”, the Minority also raised concern with the fact that the staff and teachers at that secondary level will belong to the Education Service and be managed by the Regional Directorate of Education despite being categorised under basic education.
Per the Bill, the proposed structure of the management of education will see Senior High Schools run by the Regional Coordinating Councils whiles basic schools will be run by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.
Major teacher unions in Ghana, like the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) have voiced opposition to the Bill.
They said they will resist the new Pre-Tertiary Bill because of the lack of consultation and other reasons.
According to the teachers, the Bill only seeks to give more appointing powers to the political class to the detriment of quality education and the welfare of teachers.
But the Ministry of Education has assured that it has no intention of introducing partisan politics into the country’s educational sector with the introduction of the new Bill.
