Audio Attachment:Listen to Kwabena Ntow reporting from Tamale and also in an interview with some of the teachers. |
Information reaching Peacefmonline.com indicates that 3,000 frustrated professional teachers in Tamale in the Northern Region are demonstrating against government over their unpaid allowances.
The teachers said they have not been paid their actual salaries after graduating from the various teacher training colleges in 2010.
The teachers have vowed not to return to the classroom until government pays them their over one year allowances.
According to Peace FM's Northern Regional Correspondent, Kwabena Ntow, the peaceful demonstration by the irate teachers some of whom wore red bands amidst the chanting of war songs with some bearing placards which read; �No arrears no teaching�, �Government we want our arrears�, �Why the delay� and �Aba Controller,� has suddenly turned violent with some of them vandalizing properties.
It will be recalled that the unpaid teachers on September 29 at a news conference addressed by their president Alhassan Mohammed Soawii in Tamale declared their intension to embark on demonstration if government turns deaf ears on their request.
Below are their grievances on a petition presented to the Northern Regional Coordinating Council
THE UNDUE DELAY OF SALARY ARREARS AND UPGRADING ONTO THE RIGHT SALARY SCALE
We, the undersigned, would like to draw your attention to the following problems confronting the 2010 �year group of teachers with some suggested recommendations.
1. Our arrears have not yet been paid since 2010 despite the notifications we have sent to some of the stakeholders concerned. For this reason, we are calling on the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Controller and Accountant General (CAG) to facilitate the payment of our arrears without further delay. If this is not met at the end of October, 2011, we will not hesitate to lay down our tools.
2. We are reliably informed that some districts most especially, Tolon Kumbungu and Central Gonja Districts have not submitted the Integrated Public payroll Data (IPPD) forms for processing. We are therefore urging the Northern Regional Director of Education to intervene.
3. It should be strongly noted that we would not accept the payment of our salary arrears either in batches or in installments since this would worsen the suffering that we have already endured.
4. We would like to notify the stakeholders involved in the upgrading, to take into consideration our September, 2010 incremental date by placing us on the appropriate Step than the initial step.
Our recommendations are as follows:
The Ministry of Education (MOE) and GES should ensure that newly posted teachers are paid their salaries early in order to forestall the problems that we are encountering.
Communication should be effective between the authorities in education and teachers regarding their salaries and other relevant issues. This is to avert the practice of teachers resorting to demonstrations, which affect effective teaching and learning.
We are therefore calling on the government through the Northern Regional Minister to listen to our plight and come to our aid by facilitating the payment of our salary arrears to help us deliver on our mandate as teachers without difficulties.
Signed:
Alhassan Mohammed Soawii (President of the Tamale Metropolis Unpaid Teachers Association)
Source: Beatrice Adepa Frempong/Peacefmonline.com
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