Ben Ephson writes to President Kufuor

"Dear His Excellency,

RE: DANGEROUS PRECEDENT BY THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE (GES)

I have decided to write an open letter to you, not the Sector Minister, Prof. Dominic Fobih, about an action by the Ghana Education Service (GES) because the potential consequences are DANGEROUS and RIDICULOUS.

It concerns the decision by the GES to punish the headteacher of Padmore 'A ' Primary School in Tema, Ms. Helena Abrokwa, for 'daring' to speak the truth.

Your Excellency, if you have not been briefed, here are, in brief, the facts:

On September 11, 2007, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema, Mr. David Quaye Annan; the Municipal Education Director (MED) of Tema, Mrs. Lucy Kwapong, visited a number of schools in Tema as part of the 'My First Day at School' programme, in the company of journalists. The media personnel asked her (Ms. Abrokwa) on the level of enrolment that day, and being a true Christian, she said it was low.

Your Excellency, for saying that, the Tema MED, with alleged approval from Accra, demoted Ms. Abrokwa, by asking her to go back to the classroom in another school. Ms. Abrokwa had been in the teaching profession for 34 years, 15 of them as a headteacher.

The Director General of the GES, Mr. Bannerman and the Sector Minister, Prof. Dominic Fobih, by their inaction, have confirmed credible reports that it is meant to warn other GES workers!

Mr. President, your government believes in responsible press freedom. If you allow this action to go unchecked, then what message is your government trying to send across, not only to teachers, but public servants?

We wait for your intervention.