IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN'S FOLDER
By way of summary, the first part of this piece
basically entails, inter alia, the outrageous fees being charged at the training
colleges (teacher and nursing institutions) which exceeds that of Public
Universities, the issue of job insecurity for newly trained teachers and
nurses, government’s refusal to pay salary arrears beyond 3 months and the CANCELLATION of trainee allowance. This part, which happens to be the final part,
shall, to a large extent, concern itself with some KILLER POLICIES recently
introduced by the NDC government which has made the teaching field UNATTRACTIVE
to ‘new entrants’. Enjoy the read:
7)
Fresh
graduates from the nation’s Colleges of Education (teachers) are essentially
being discouraged from pursuing further studies to UPGRADE themselves
academically and professionally. This is because government, through GES, has
introduced a NEW POLICY that PRECLUDES or BARS teachers from pursuing further
studies whether through SANDWICH, STUDY LEAVE or DISTANCE EDUCATION module
until they have served for a minimum of 4 years and obtained PERMIT from their
respective regional director of education before the commencement of such
programmes, which can ONLY be pursued on Saturdays and Sundays anyway.
Failure to strictly abide by
this, government says, would mean AUTOMATIC FORFEITURE of one’s employment
contract with the Ghana Education Service and by extension the Ministry of
Education and for that matter government. In other words, a teacher is only
eligible to receive his/her FIRST PROMOTION or UPGRADING after serving for at
least 8 years; which is inclusive of the period of further studies.
Consequently, all Directors of
Education in the country have been instructed NOT to process any certificate of
any member of staff (teaching or non-teaching) who has acquired a higher
certificate but had not respected this regulation. “Any teacher who enrols with
the Distance and Sandwich programmes without prior permission from GES will
have his salaries BLOCKED and name eventually DELETED from the GES payroll”-
the directive says.
Again, it says that, “Any
teacher who pursues Distance/Sandwich programme without approval does so at his
or her own risk since the certificate obtained will NOT be recognized by GES
for upgrading and promotion”. This directive takes effect from the 2015/2016
academic year.
Shockingly, the teacher Unions
(GNAT, NAGRAT and CCT), which have proven to be the most useless labour unions
in the country, are LOUDLY SILENT on this, even though, they were copied with
all these correspondences. I have more than enough documentary evidence to
prove that and can make same available upon request. So to all the media houses
and stakeholders who wish to ascertain the veraciousness or otherwise of my
claims should feel free and contact me.
Why is government seeking to prevent
teachers from adding more value to themselves through the pursuit of further
learning? Why should a teacher who is desirous of upgrading himself
academically and professionally wait for a minimum of 8 years before realizing
his dreams? How would this policy encourage or attract people into the teaching
profession? Meanwhile, we all know that, unlike the regular session, pursuing
further education through Sandwich or Distance Education module means teachers
do NOT have to abandon the classroom because of how such programmes are
structured.
So, what at all is the fear of the
Ghana Education Service and for that matter government if these teachers are
able to combine the pursuit of such programmes with their classroom
responsibilities? The only reasonable and inevitable conclusion that can be
drawn from this unpopular move is that, government is broke and can no longer
carry the burden of having to pay the salaries of these teachers upon their
promotion or upgrading hence the need for these draconian restrictions.
Meanwhile, there is
every indication to show that, overwhelming majority of the students/teachers
pursuing these Sandwich and Distance Education Programmes are from the three
northern regions of the country. This is partly because there are very few
Institutions of Higher Learning in the northern part of the country; hence,
teachers in these regions who wish to remain at post and still undertake
further studies have no option but to do so via Sandwich or Distance Education
Programmes from some of the nation’s reputable institutions like UEW, UCC, UG,
KNUST among others.
It is therefore
abundantly clear that, this latest policy by the John Mahama government to
virtually collapse the famous Sandwich and Distance Education Module in
relation to teacher education, would greatly affect “northern teachers” and completely
shutter their dreams of seeking to upgrade themselves academically and
professionally. This is the damning legacy, President Mahama, who himself is a
northerner, wishes to be remembered for. How sad!
8)
This
is the same government that scrapped the agelong PUPIL TEACHER SYSTEM and thus,
rendered thousands of pupil teachers in the country, UNEMPLOYED because they had
not acquired professional teaching certificate. Again, this is because
government claimed not to have money to pay these teachers.
9) Teacher
trainees in the country are now being made to bear the full cost of all
resources needed for their on-campus and off-campus teaching practices
including the cost of feeding, accommodation, utility bills, teaching and
learning materials as well as other statutory college fees. This weighty financial nightmare is
not only frustrating and burdensome, but has the potential of truncating the
dreams of hundreds of trainees who wish to successfully graduate and join the
noble profession.
10)
The NDC government as at date; is yet to
construct a single College of Education out of the ten it had promised
Ghanaians as contained in their 2012 manifesto and was re-echoed in both the
2013 and 2014 budget statements. It would be recalled that the government had
promised to build ten (10) Colleges of Education in the country, one in each of
the ten regions. However, none has been constructed as of now. Surprisingly,
this pledge was conspicuously missing in the 2015 and 2016 budgets.
CONCLUSION
It is evidently clear from the
foregoing that our gallant public sector workers including teachers and nurses
as well as trainees have been offered a raw deal by the NDC government. It is
very difficult to point out a single policy that has been implemented by this
government to better their lot. The story has always been one disappointment or
another as far as they are concerned. No wonder the public sector is witnessing
an unprecedented labour turnover. It is also a no secret that since time
immemorial, overwhelming majority of northerners attend these training colleges
for obvious reasons.
None of the Presidents we've had in
the past (who were mostly southerners) ever contemplated of scrapping this
trainee allowance and doing away with some of these special concessions
associated with training college education in the country, yet John Mahama, who
happens to be a NORTHERNER is the ONLY MAN who has been able to take this
killer decision to the expense of his own people. How more paradoxical could
and callous could he be! Obviously, this is another classic case of using your
won to kill you slowly. Enough is enough.
#Mutashi
#TeachersAndNursesDeserveBetter
#OurCountryMustWorkAgainAndNow
Assalamu alaik
This piece was compiled by a
concerned Ghanaian in the business of OCCUPYING HEARTS and MINDS for the love
of God and country.
IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN
Concerned teacher
Student/Youth Activist
Former NUGS Secretary
(0245335197)
Please, it is shareable….
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