IDDI
MUHAYU-DEEN'S FOLDER
It is an established fact that, for sometime
now, this NDC government has not been in the good books of our teacher and
nursing trainees for some justifiable reasons. These trainees essentially contend
that they've been slapped with so much disservice which is militating against
their innocuous quest to realizing their career dreams of becoming consummate
nurses and teachers. And when they eventually graduate from the training
institutions, the narrative only gets precarious and aggravated.
You would notice that government officials
received very hostile receptions from the trainees anytime they visited these
training colleges. Contrary to what many Ghanaians believe, the anger of these
trainees goes far beyond government's unpopular decision to scrap their
allowance. As a concerned student leader, professional teacher and youth
activist, I decided to delve into this matter with the view to appreciating the
full story and these are my incontrovertible findings:
1) It is now more expensive to access
teacher/nursing training than the cost of obtaining a University Degree at the
nation’s Public Universities. Trainees pay an average of GHc2,800 to GHc3,600
annually whereas their university counterparts pay between GHc900 - GHc1,800
yearly. In the case of nursing students, first years pay as much as GHc 4,250 (ie
42 million old cedis)
2)
Interestingly,
this is the very period that government decides to unilaterally CANCEL their TRAINEE
ALLOWANCE against all odds whilst damning the consequences. In a desperate
attempt to vindicate its unpopular decision of scrapping the allowance,
government surreptitiously RELAXED THE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS into training
colleges in order to significantly increase enrollment and use same as a
justification for scrapping the allowance. For instance, grades like D7 and E8,
which hitherto, wouldn't qualify one to gain admission into a training college,
are now admissible. How smart a move!
3)
It
is also instructive to note that, less than 20% of the trainees as we speak,
are able to access the so called STUDENT LOAN which government keeps touting as
an excellent REPLACEMENT of the scrapped trainee allowance. This is partly
because the process of accessing the student loan is very bureaucratic and the
amount, a PEANUT. More so, these trainees are not psychologically positioned to
accept the student loan; as they are bent on fighting unwaveringly for the restoration
of their allowance by hook or crook.
4)
Government
has again REVIEWED the JOB SECURITY associated with teacher and nursing
training education which had existed from the days of Kwame Nkrumah. Government
has put a COMPLETE FREEZE on public sector employment in the case of Nurses/Midwives
since 2013 whereas a LICENSING REGIME is being introduced in the case of
teacher trainees which wouldn’t guarantee them automatic enrollment in the
public sector after graduation. Meanwhile these trainee nurses/teachers are
bonded for at least four years and therefore can't go anywhere to work but the
public sector. How unfair!
I am sure you have heard about a
leaked memo intercepted by joy fm from the Ghana Education Service (GES) instructing
all the Regional and District Directors of Education NOT to process the
employment details of newly trained teachers nor provide them with appointment
letters until further notice.
Of course, government had to quickly
play a COWARDLY RETREAT when this issue became public, provoking public
resentment. It is pretty obvious that these trainees would not receive a penny
from this government anytime soon, except possibly, if there is a CHANGE of
government after the December polls. As usual, government would take cover in a
certain animal called FINANCIAL CLEARANCE to illegitimately deny these newly
recruited teachers, their salaries.
Don’t get it twisted, this
has everything to do with government’s contract with the IMF to downsize the
public sector workforce as a way of controlling the wage bill. This policy of
staff rationalization, which would lead to several job-losses is expected to
take effect in 2017. It would be recalled that sometime in 2014, Alhaji Dr.
Mahamoud Bawumia, the economic prophet of our time and NPP vice Presidential
Candidate made this revelation citing leaked IMF report.
According to Alhaji Dr. Bawumia, paragraph 65
of Ghana's Extended Credit Agreement with the IMF, stipulates that government
with the assistance of development partners undertakes a comprehensive
plan to rationalize the size and increase the efficiency of the civil and allied
services on the payroll.
“The related strategic plan will be ready in
December 2015, the result of which will inform the actual rationalization of
staff which is expected to begin in 2017”, he added. He
questioned why the implementation of the programme will be delayed until 2017
when it is supposed to help the struggling economy. He
alleged that the only reason government is not being transparent on this
issue, is because it does not want workers to know the truth about what
they have agreed to do before the election.
However, government as
usual, denied the existence of such document until the multimedia team (joy fm
and co) intercepted same from the IMF and published it on their websites.
Kindly follow this link to confirm Bawumia’s claims and how he was vindicated
by joy fm:
So, if this is a laudable policy, why is
government deferring its implementation until after the 2016 election? Why are
they NOT implementing it now? In other words, the NDC government is essentially
telling our civil servants to vote for them after which, they would be laid off.
I can’t think madness. Fortunately, our civil servants are not simpletons.
5)
The
very few teachers and nurses, who are lucky to be absorbed into the public
sector are made to work for years (in some cases, 3 years and more) without a
receiving a penny (salary). And when eventually, government decides to pay
them, often after mounting incessant pressure, they are paid for JUST 3 MONTHS because
of the prevailing government policy (introduced in 2013) NOT TO PAY salary
arrears beyond 3 months across the public sector. This of course, is either one
of the IMF conditionalities OR a strategy to steal from the ordinary Ghanaian
worker.
6) The
frosty relationship between the Mahama government and these trainees got to its
crescendo sometime last year when the trainees were compelled to BOYCOTT
CLASSES for at least 2 WEEKS in apparent protest against the bizarre treatment
meted out to them by the NDC government.
It is noteworthy
that this strike action embarked upon by the trainees is the first of its kind
in the history of this country. Unfortunately, instead of redressing their
issues, government spokespersons have rather chosen to rain insults on them for
fighting for their fundamental rights to education. How incredulous!
For instance, it would be
recalled that the NDC General Secretary, called their bluff and dared them to
vote against the NDC in 2016 if they so wish because their allowances would
never be reinstated by the government. These were his exact words, “if you
can’t stay in school and be trained as a TEACHER and a NURSE without student
allowance, leave the school. We don’t need your votes. You can vote against us,
we don’t care”- Asiedu Nketiah on Kumasi based fox fm.
Again, one Gbovovi Godwin, a
government communicator described teacher trainees as “good for nothing
students” on a Kumasi based Angel fm in the immediate aftermath of the
unpopular incident that happened at the Wesley College of Education, where Hon.
Okudjeto Ablakwa, Felix Owusu Kwakye and some other government officials were SEVERELY
HECKLED by the aggrieved trainees during the 3rd edition of the
campus connect series.
President Mahama himself, is
also on record as having said that HE PREFERS LOSING THE 2016 GENERAL ELECTIONS
TO RESTORING THE TRAINEE ALLOWANCE. He made this comment, which many see as a
spite on these trainees, whilst addressing students at the University of Cape
coast in the Central Region.
END OF PART 1… If, having read
this piece, you think our gallant teachers/nurses as well as trainees have been
short-changed by the John Mahama government, then I wonder what you would say
when you read the second and final part, which contains some revealing
bombshells. The second part shall hit your desk very soon. Stay tuned! Obviously
our public sector workers have had more than enough.
#Mutashi
#TeachersAndNursesDeserveBetter
#OurCountryMustWorkAgainAndNow
#GovernmentMustBeSensitiveOurTheirNeeds
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 Activist
Former NUGS Secretary
(0245335197)
Please, it is shareable….
