Trouble brewing between Mampong teachers and DDE

Mampong (Ash), July 24, GNA-Trouble is brewing between teachers in the Sekyere West district of Ashanti and the District Directorate of Education (DDE) over the purchase of a welfare bus the teachers described as "a moving coffin".

The teachers are questioning the rationale behind purchasing the bus, which cost 30 million cedis about six years ago at 76 million cedis now from their monthly welfare contribution of 2,000 cedis.

Explaining their opposition to the purchase of the bus, they contended that the bus could not be maintained by the Mampong Co-operative Transport Union who were even knowledgeable in transport management but parked it and could therefore not understand why the district education directorate bought it without their consent. To express their anger and displeasure at the purchase of the bus, the Mampong central teachers were going to demonstrate but were dissuaded from doing so by Mr Kwaku Ayesu Opare-Addo, the Mampong Divisional Police Commander.

Mr Opare-Addo said he heard of the intended demonstration on radio and quickly convened a meeting with the teacher's leadership and asked them to abandon the demonstration since they did not inform the police and instead asked them to enter into dialogue with the district education directorate.

The leadership of the teachers said they asked the directorate to dispose of the bus at a meeting the two bodies held and wondered why the directorate had failed to abide by that decision.