The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition-GNECC wishes to express its concerns over the strike action declared by the Ghana National Association of Teachers-GNAT and the National Association of Graduate Teachers-NAGRAT as well as the manner in which this dispute has been handled.
As a country, whose constitution guarantees the right to education, both Government and all stakeholders in the sector, have a responsibility to ensure that no Ghanaian child's effort to access and participate in education in all this forms is hindered and that the best interest of the child is paramount in all issues related to education.
It is in view of this that the Coalition is greatly distressed that the strike action has been called at a time when final year students in senior high schools across the country have commenced their final exam( WASSCE).
With teachers, serving as invigilators during the exams, the present situation holds the potential of disrupting the smooth conduct of this all important exams and likely to serve as a recipe for psychological torture for the candidates, especially asthey are currently unsettled as to when this impasse will be resolved.
The strike action, if not resolved quickly, will disrupt the academic calendar and the actual contact hours for teaching and learning in both secondary and tertiary schools.
GNECC is also very saddened by an emerging culture in the sector characterized by an annual recurrence of industrial actions and strikes by teachers. Most of which are traceable to un-resolved labour demands of teachers and Government's failure to comprehensively and conclusively address them. We wish to call on Government and its appropriate agencies, to be more proactive in ensuring that this trend becomes an issue of the past.
Overall, the coalition is fully convinced by these and other factors that the outcome of this strike and other industrial actions do not serve the best interests of our cherished pupils/students, who have been copiously referred to as 'our future leaders'. It neither serves the interest of a nation whose standard of education especially at the pre-tertiary level has fallen in recent years with no clear signals of recovery in sight.
The Coalition, as a major stakeholder in the sector is therefore calling for a quick and prompt response by all parties (Government, MOE, GES and the teacher unions) to end this dispute. All parties must demonstrate commitment to the process for resolution with best interest of the Ghanaian child at the fore-front of such effort.
In furtherance of this, the Coalition specifically calls for the following;
1. That GNAT and NAGRAT should co-operate with the constitutionally mandated bodies including the Labour Commission in seeking arbitration on their concerns with Government.
2. That the Labour commission should go beyond paying the usual lip-service to the provisions in the Labour Act and fully utilize the power vested in them by the Labour act towards a lasting solution to this dispute.
3. Government (MoE & GES) and the Teacher Unions should devise mechanisms that will in the long-term guarantee a comprehensive resolution of labour disputes with minimal impact on the conduct of teaching and learning in our schools. This will be a laudable demonstration to protecting the interest of the Ghanaian child who invariable suffers through such actions.
4. Government should as a matter of urgency demonstrate good faith toward resolving this dispute by living up to any previously agreed terms between them and the Teacher Unions. parties towards resolving this dispute. Government must avoid aggravating the current situation by not refusing stick to any agreed terms and timelines as both parties sit for an amicable settlement.
5. We also urge the Teacher Unions and their leadership take steps to promote and support any processes and measures which will ensure teacher accountability and professional service delivery that justifies the huge investment in the education sector, bulk of which goes to personnel emoluments.
In conclusion, GNECC will urge all stakeholders, especially the Government, GNAT, NAGRAT and the National Labour Commission to demonstrate commitment and goodwill to the interest of the poor children of Ghana, who though have faulted no one, are on the receiving end of this strike action, in the quest to pursue a legitimate right. THE RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION
Signed:
Bright Appiah
Chairman,
GNECC Executive Council
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