Kumasi, Jan. 24, GNA - The Ashanti Regional branch of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has stated that it was time the government took bold steps to properly enhance the salaries of teachers.

It said the provision of educational infrastructure, capitation grant, free feeding will not achieve its desired results if teachers are not put on proper salary structures.

"A dispirited teacher is worse than inadequate buildings, furniture and textbooks combined", it said.

These were contained in an address read by Mr Paul Stanley Essaw, the Regional NAGRAT Secretary at a Press Conference organised by the Association in Kumasi on Wednesday.

It said on many occasions, the Association commended government for noticing the predicament the Ghana Universal salary Structure (GUSS) unleashed on workers and the need to take the right steps to correct it. However, it said the discriminatory manner in which it was done made workers aggrieved, particularly teachers. It pointed out that consequently, the government promised workers enhanced salaries and correction of distortions in the GUSS in January, 2007, adding that eventually January has come and new salaries have been announced.

It said however that, to the dismay of teachers, government could offer just 30 and 47 per cent salary increases. "The painful aspect of it all is government's attempt to justify this mediocrity by splashing it everywhere that teachers will be laughing to the bank at the end of January. Ironically, it has failed to tell Ghanaians that teachers will be shedding tears on their return from the bank. We only describe the so-called increment as veneer on the predicament of the teacher.

"We want to appeal to government to stop venerating itself for having done enough for teachers, it only add to our agony when it makes such pronouncements on various platforms because even the genuine casual observer knows that, once again teachers have been dished a bitter pill to swallow", it added.

The Association stressed the need for the government to come clear with a roadmap to the convergence, if there was indeed any commitment to ensuring parity and fairness of salaries of workers. It stressed that it was going to reject the new salaries that have been announced until a roadmap for the correction of the anomalies in the overall salary for public sector workers be made available to all immediately.

The members called on the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to, as a matter of urgency approve the waiver for the Association in its efforts to purchase vehicles for teachers. It also called for the review and payment of allowances for teachers.