Education Director cautions teachers

Nkoranza (B/A), Jan. 22, GNA - Mr Kwabena Agyemang-Badu, Nkoranza District Director of Education, has cautioned teachers about their dealings with private credit companiesas their operations is causing immense embarrassment to the Service.

He expressed concern at a press conference at Nkoranza that some teachers had become so indebted to these companies, who offer loans or goods to a point that their whole salaries go into repayment. The District Director noted that the credit companies had managed to liaise with the Controller and Accountant General's department for the deduction of their debts from their salaries.

Mr Agyeman-Badu stated that the teachers at the same time collect loans from their various banks.

"These practices have put a great burden on some teachers as they become financially handicapped to take care of their families", he said. The District Director noted that the banks were now unwilling to grant loans to the teachers as they feared their repayment would encounter problems.

Mr James Edjei Biney, District Secretary of Ghana National Association of Teachers reiterated that the credit companies were creating problems for the teachers as some unscrupulous persons had also formed syndicates to dupe the teachers.

At times, some teachers even suffer deductions from such companies even when they had not collected any goods or loans from them, while others also make over-deductions.

He declined to mention the name of any credit company but emphasized that the district branch of the Association outfit had on some occasions ensured the refund of illegal deductions by some of the companies.

Mr Biney called for the monitoring of the activities of such companies to ensure that they operated genuinely.