Cape Coast, Aug. 12, GNA - The national President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr Kwame Alorvi, has described as "pathetic" government's decision to engage casual teachers to fill vacancies in the classrooms saying the future and lives of Ghanaian children should not be toyed with.

He said reports reaching his office from the regional capitals indicated that large numbers of unemployed youth had been assembled to undergo a one week orientation for distribution to schools throughout the country.

Mr Alorvi, who said this at the opening of the 8th National Delegates Conference of the association in Cape Coast, expressed disappointment that governments over the years had resorted to "casualizing" teaching instead of improving conditions of service to attract and retain qualified professionals.

Mr Alorvi said in the country's quest to produce quality human resources to facilitate its attainment of a middle income status, contract teachers cannot be relied upon to deliver quality education. "They neither have the requisite skills nor commitment to deliver", he said and added that government should provide incentives such as improved salaries, accommodation and mobility to encourage teachers to perform instead of "gambling with the lives of our children with casual teachers."

Mr Alorvi also appealed to government to live up to its promise of implementing the Single Spine Salary Structure in January 2010 by removing all bottlenecks that would hamper its smooth take-off and cautioned that teachers would not accept any excuses of government's failure to implement the policy because "this is the third year since that promise and our patience is running out." "Various deadlines given by government including January 2007 and 2008 elapsed," he said. Mr Alorvi said actors that deterred people from the teaching profession included low salaries, poor conditions of service and inadequate allowances.

In a speech read for him Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, the Minister of Education, pledged that the condition of service for teachers would soon be improved while those who are overdue for promotion would also be interviewed soon to pave the way for their promotion. The Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, said the TUC had a long way to go since only three million of the about 11 million of the country's workforce are insured with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). He mentioned marginalization of women at the work place, delays in the payment of salaries and poor conditions of service as some of the challenges facing the TUC and urged workers to be guided by the cardinal principles of solidarity and unity and hard work as the various unions negotiate for better conditions for them.

Prof Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, who was the guest speaker, said even though teachers deserved better remunerations, they should consider the welfare of the child paramount and not to use strike as weapon for negotiations. He also urged them to eschew all vices such as child abuse, lateness, drunkenness and laziness and make teaching a career choice by regularly refreshing their courses to enhance quality education. Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, urged teachers to exhibit a high sense of professionalism because the public would judge their performance. The four-day conference being attended by delegates from all the country is on the theme "Human resource development in Ghana- teachers matter". 12 Aug 09