Newly Posted Teachers To Boycott Classes Over Unpaid Salary Arrears

Teaching, the mother of all profession is highly underrated in Ghana as proven by the previous and the incumbent N.P.P government. Simply put, the newly posted trained teachers were not fortunate enough to receive their monthly allowances as compared to their previous graduates who were direct beneficiaries. In view of this, the Ministry of Education in a memorandum of understanding with the group under discussion promised them with better condition of services after posting including non delay of salaries among others. Sadly, all the juice promises have been turned into a nightmare and illusions as lamented by the newly posted teachers.

As a result of the failed juicy promises, the newly trained teachers have vowed to engage in a boycotts or in a nationwide demonstration over their unpaid salaries and poor condition of service as prevalent among the 2016 graduates of the various colleges of education who were not so fortunate to receive allowance for their three (3) year stay on campus.

Therefore, the year group threatened to embark on a nationwide demonstration last month but it was called-off after various consultations with the minister of Education. It will interest you to know that, newly trained teachers who have been teaching for the past eight (8) months and have completed their biometric registration has only received one (1) month salary instead of seven (7) months. Some said districts who paid huge sums before they were allowed to fill their IPPD forms have still not receive their staff identity numbers. Such an unfair treatment has sparkled discomfort among the hungry teachers and are on this note planning to speak to the government the language he will understand better coming May 5, 2017.

Already, there have been series of demonstrations by the newly posted teachers at Pusiga district in Upper East Region against their district IPPD Coordinator for failure to work on the teachers input forms which would enable them get their staff IDs. As a result, the teachers were made to pay an amount of Gh¢30.00 each for biometric processes claiming the amount was to cater for transportation to Accra, accommodation and something their authorities described as penetration fees.

Upon all these dubious charges by the school authorities in the Pusiga district, no fruitful results have been realised by these hungry trained teachers. Therefore, they believe the best remedy for now is to embark on mini demonstrations before the mega demonstration on 8th day of May, 2017 as scheduled. The year group will fuel their grievances by not going to the classroom to teach in the next academic term when they are not paid in full and those without staff identity numbers have all vowed to embark on the pending nationwide demonstration if the right thing is not done by the sitting president as soon as possible!

Akwasi Brobbey
Coalition of Newly Trained Teachers (CANTT) - PRO
0548412192