TESCON commends Govt

Accra, Sept. 30, GNA - The Tertiary Education Students Confederacy (TESCOM) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of the polytechnics on Thursday commended the Government for tackling problems facing Polytechnic Education.

It also called on Polytechnic Teachers, who have threatened to withdraw their services, to reconsider their decision so as not to aggravate the problem of the polytechnics while the Government should be more proactive in dealing with the service conditions of the Lecturers. A statement signed in Accra by Mr Emmanuel Attafuah-Danso, Spokesman for TESCOM in the Polytechnics, noted that the Government had tackled three major problems facing the Polytechnics with success. The problems are the grading system, academic progression and job placement for Higher National Diploma (HND) holders.

It said President John Agyekum Kufuor and the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu had tackled these problems "hopefully once and for all".

The statement said the Polytechnics were better endowed now than before; the grading system had been reviewed; the issue of academic progression was almost history as graduates of the Polytechnics could pursue a first and second degree courses while the Government had provided substantial sums of money from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the development of all the Polytechnics. It said "the seemingly insoluble problem of job placement", which was the major cause for the strike action by students, was almost certainly history. The Public Services Commission and the Security Agencies had with good reasons acceded to the demands of Polytechnic Students.

"It must be explained, however, that the President Kufuor-led Administration of the NPP Government wanted a holistic and final resolution of the issue. Certainly, this will take time because of the Government's decision to follow due process by involving all key and relevant stakeholders."

TESCOM urged the Executives of the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students to exercise restraint and not to take entrenched positions.