The Coalition of Concern Teachers, Ghana (CCT-GH) has called on President John Mahama to terminate the appointment of Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, Minister of Education, saying she is the reason for all the misfortunes and setbacks in the education sector.
According to the teachers, since she took office as the Minister of Education, there had not been any progressive transformation in the sector. “She has exhibited lack of alacrity to put Ghana education on a sound footing. Her acumen as technocrat in the ministry cannot be felt. She has shown gross incompetence as a minister in charge of education”, the concerned teachers stated.
Speaking at a press conference held yesterday in Accra, the National Secretary of the CCT-GH, Mr. Ernest Opoku, said Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang is the worst Education Minister ever in the history of Ghana.
He warned that if by September, which is the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year, the Education Minister is still at post, the coalition members will lay down their tools to protest against her, and also to compel the government to address their other grievances.
Other reasons why the teachers want to embark on their strike action include the non-payment of their salary arrears, non-payment of incremental credit arrears, and lack of provision of teaching and learning materials, including chalk. Furthermore, the teachers are pushing for the reinstatement of the tax waiver on the importation of vehicles by teachers, which was taken away some time ago.
The National Secretary reiterated that for sanity to prevail in the education sector, the Minister should voluntarily vacate her post, saying: “We call on her to either resign or be sacked by His Excellency the President.” Also, the coalition has threatened to sue the government over the 2.5% Social Security National Investment Trust (SSNIT) contribution which goes to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), yet the members are unable to access quality healthcare from service providers.
He continued that category two and three allowances are still pending, transfer grants have not been paid for over three years, and the policy of paying only three months arrears out of the whole lot is unacceptable, and the earlier something is done about it, the better.
Mr. Opoku appealed to the government to involve the various teacher unions when it comes to the rationalisation of teachers issues. He congratulated the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) for the bold decision they had taken to embark on a strike action to register their displeasure on the scraping of the various allowances.
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