Negotiations between pre-tertiary teacher unions and the Labour Ministry are expected to continue today, Monday, November following failure of both parties to reach an agreement on Friday, November 4, 2022.
The teacher unions are calling for Eric Nkansah, the New GES director’s appointment, to be revoked, with a claim that he is unfit to hold that position since he is a banker and not an education.
The teacher unions namely Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana (CCT-Gh), organised a press conference to declare their discontent over Dr Nkansah’s appointment and subsequently declared an industrial action which was to take effect from Friday.
However, the Labour Ministry called for a meeting with the aggrieved teachers. After deliberations, they could not reach an agreement.
The Unions requested time to consult the grassroot and meet with the Labour Ministry on Monday.
Making their case, the teacher unions argued that the director general’s position was the preserve of educationists and had been occupied by educationists since its creation in 1974 to date, adding that 17 director generals had been appointed to serve at the GES since then with five of them being Professors from academia known to have operated in the education space.
President of NAGRAT, Rev Isaac Owusu, representing the teachers said the other Director-Generals were all higher officers of the GES even under military regimes, thus, the appointment of a banker instead of an educationist was a manifestation of the lack of confidence in teachers to manage their own affairs and disregard for an established scheme of service and progression within the GES.
“We have been compelled under the current circumstances to publicly communicate to Ghanaians our intention to go on strike, having reached the November 4 deadline we gave the government.
Consequently, we have decided to embark on a strike starting today, Friday, November 4, 2022.
Additionally, they raised concern about the one-year contract extension given to a Deputy Director General, Anthony Boateng, stressing their opposition to the said contract extension.
“We sounded a note of caution that we would vehemently and vigorously resist any attempt to bring him (Boateng) back into the system and that the consequences of any such attempt may be too dire to handle,” he emphasised, and that it finally cautioned that “should the government fail to heed our call, leadership of the teacher unions would not be able to control the actions or inaction of their members.”
Dr Nkansah was appointed Director-General of the GES on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
His appointment came barely 48 hours after the previous Director-General of the Service, Prof Opoku-Amankwa, was relieved of his duties.
A letter issued by the Presidency announcing the appointment said Mr Nkansah’s appointment took effect on October 19, 2022. He was given fourteen days to accept or reject the appointment.
“I am pleased to inform you that the President has appointed you to act as the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (the Service) pending receipt of the constitutionally required advice of the Governing Council of the Service, given in consultation with the Public Service Commission,” the letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, said.
The appointment is also “Pursuant to Section 19 (1), (2) (a) and (b) of the Pre-Tertiary Education Act, 2020 (Act 1049),” the Presidency added.
Source: The Independent Ghana