Phenomenon of drunken teachers on the increase in Hohoe

Hohoe, Aug 10, GNA - Drunken teachers have provoked public outcry in the Hohoe Municipality against the backdrop of the free fall in the standards of education in the area. Ms Juliet Dede Kumah, Hohoe Municipal Director of Education, who briefed the Hohoe General Assembly, said the situation had assumed alarming proportion with about 50 percent of teachers engaging in heavy drinking.

She said disciplinary actions including reprimands, suspensions, embargoes on salaries and transfers to their communities had not been deterrent enough. "Some of them get hopelessly drunk and fall into stupor," Ms Kumah said.

She said the municipality had a teacher population of 2,384 trained and untrained teachers with additional 346 graduate teachers, teaching 42,414 pupils and students in 370 public and private institutions across basic, second-cycle and tertiary levels. Ms Edith Akpoto, Presiding Member of the Assembly, described the situation as alarming and needed attention. The assembly decided to set up of a committee comprising representations from the Ghana Education Service, Ghana National Association of Teachers, Hohoe Municipal Assembly and Ghana Health Service to assess, evaluate and recommend remedies. 10 Aug 09