Pay Them Before Sacking Them

Earlier this month, Pupil Teachers across the country woke up to the unpleasant news that the Ghana Education Service and the government by extension no longer needed their services. Up till now, that information is still murky as there were refutation of it by a deputy minister of education Mr. Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa.

Contrary to the deputy minister's stance that Pupil Teachers have not been sacked, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has in various media platforms reiterated the point that Pupil Teachers are no longer desired and that a circular has been given to all District Directors of Education to inform Pupil Teachers under their domains that their services were no longer needed.

Some affected Pupil Teachers have no problem if their employers were to lay them off. They however have a big problem if after working for two years and haven't received a penny, they are asked to go home without the necessary steps put in place to pay them all their arrears. I found it rather unfortunate that when the Director General of GES was questioned about some affected Pupil Teachers not being paid for two years by TV3, he vehemently denied it, claiming that nothing of that sort could happen or is happening.

I want to use this platform to draw the attention of the Director General of GES and the government to the fact that in some districts in Ghana, teachers are employed and not paid for even three years. Evidence of this abounds in the East Mamprusi district of the northern region where teachers there have worked for close to two years and their documents are yet to go to the Controller and Accountant General's Office to effect the necessary payments. These Pupil Teachers for two years haven't even been given GES Staff ID numbers.

This notwithstanding, they have been the most committed of teachers believing that no matter how long it took them, one day they will be paid. This latest directive by the government and GES and the latter's denial of the existence of teachers with these peculiar problems only shows how ineffective our institutions are and probably how inefficient and insouciant their occupants are also.

If the GES knows that appointment of Pupil Teachers is a one year contract why then don't they put in place measures to ensure that all Pupil Teachers don't have to wait for more than a year before they begin receiving their monthly salaries? It is never the fault of Pupil Teachers that they are not paid in excess of two years and they should never suffer for the omissions or commissions of other officers like the District Directors and IPPD officers who are supposed to fast-track the processing of their appointment particulars to ensure that they are paid.

The last time I wrote about the fate of these teachers was two months ago and I never for once imagined that any time soon they will be sacked without being paid by the government. The District Director in Gambaga I'm told was angered that someone had the nerves to write about the rot in her office. I guess by now she is beginning to feel pity for these Pupil Teachers if only she has a son or daughter who could have been in the shoes that these unfortunate heroes have found themselves.

Quite confusing too is the definition of a Pupil Teacher. Some graduates from the universities and Polytechnics who have not been to any teacher training institution are also called Pupil Teachers. While the Director General of GES has not come clearly as to whether the SSCE certificate holders or the graduate non-professional teachers or both are affected by the directive, some GES officials claim whoever has not been to training college and employed by the GES as a teacher is affected. Others claim only the SSCE holders are. So whose claim is right? The GES and the Ministry of Education will have to come out clearly on that too.

In conclusion, while desperate times call for desperate measures, the unfortunate Pupil Teachers cannot be asked to go home empty-handed haven worked for the GES with validly signed appointment letters and proofs that they have been at post for two years. It is very unfair to them and whoever has the power to ensure that they are paid and is not doing it is to put it mildly, 'wicked to the core'.

The coming days promise to be tense as these affected teachers in the East Mamprusi district especially are not going to accept the turn of events as we now have it. If it demands marching to the Flagstaff House, they are willing to go and even beyond to the White House to claim what is duly theirs.

For the benefit of readers, I've attached the earlier article I wrote drawing the attention of Ghanaians to the plight of these teachers below.

ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORIA ASCERTA
MILICENT DAHAMANI, GAMBAGA.