Portions of Pre-Tertiary Education Bill deleted amid protests

The Ministry of Education has deleted certain portions of the Pre-Tertiary Education Bill.

The deleted sections have to do with the decentralization of the education service.

The coalition of unions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) resisted the new Pre-Tertiary Bill due to the lack of consultation among others.

According to the teacher unions, the Bill only seeks to give more appointing powers to the political class to the detriment of quality education and the welfare of teachers.

They vowed to reject the Bill which they fear will see basic schools, Senior High Schools and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) being managed by the District Assemblies, Regional Education Directorate and a Director-General independent of the Ghana Education Service.

A statement from the Ghana Education Service said the decision was taken after a meeting with the various unions within the education sector.

Citi News reports that a letter signed by the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, stated that “After a meeting with representatives of the unions in Education on Wednesday 20th May 2020, I am directed by the Hon. Minister of Education to inform you that the Ministry upon reflection has decided to delete the sections which deal with decentralization of the Education Service namely; sections 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the proposed Pre-Tertiary Bill.”

According to the Ghana Education Service, the portions deleted “is to ensure that other very important aspects of the Bill can then be proceeded with at Parliament to ensure the final passage of the Bill into law.”

Source: abcnewsgh.com