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The Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) had appealed to Government to hasten the reconstitution of the Governing Councils for the Colleges of Education to make them fully functional.

The Union said the Governing Councils play a critical in every institution because they are the higher decision making bodies, with the sole responsibility of fashioning out policies, programmes as well as taking major decisions for implementation by the management.

A statement signed by Mr. Augustine Saakuur Karbo, the General Secretary of TEWU and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said.

The Union believed that, the absence of the Governing Council for the Colleges of Education is affecting their operations in terms of how certain decisions that are supposed to affect staff, are left in the hands of management which may be subjected to so many manipulation and arbitrariness.

“The leadership of TEWU sees the current development regarding the issue of Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana, CETAG and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission as unfortunate.

This is because the Governing Council would have played a major role in dealing with the concerns of the tutors like the Market Premium and the category two and three allowances”, it added.

The Union stated that as it stands now, issues of understaffing, student graduation, and promotions of senior staff among others are affecting the Colleges due to the absence of the Councils.

“There are certain managerial staff that are appointed by the Governing Council, and our members are qualified for these appointments, so with no Governing Councils in place, managements have no mandate to do so”.

The Union said decisions on staff recruitment both teaching and non-teaching will need approval from the Governing Councils, adding that there is serious under staffing at the Colleges of Education, as some staff have been reassigned to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and others on retirement.

TEWU stressed that it was necessary to replace those who have been reassigned to GES, based on the current dispensation where the Colleges of Education are now under the National Council for Tertiary Education.

The Union urged various stakeholders whose nominees will be represented on the Councils, to do nominations immediately, since TEWU has met its various Colleges of Education, and are ready with their representative for the Council to complete the governance structures for efficient smooth academic work and other activities at the Colleges of Education.

“We call on other stakeholders to also do the same, so that we can all support the process of reconstituting the Councils for them to be inaugurated in good time for administration of governance structure and directions at the Colleges of Education”.