Pupil Teachers Demand Payment Of Entitlements

Kumasi, Aug. 4, - The National Association of Laid Off Pupil Teachers has called for the payment of their entitlements without any further delay. The association said the ''inhuman manner'' the Ghana Education Service (GES) has treated them has not only impoverished them but has also placed them in a very awkward position. Addressing a press conference on their plight in Kumasi at the weekend, Mr Charles Koomson, national secretary of the association, said they have been fighting for the past seven years to get their entitlements paid just like it has been done to retrenched workers in the public and civil service but to no avail. He said even their petition to the Castle has not yielded any results and warned that their patience was running out and that they will, as full blooded Ghanaians, take every action to have their entitlements paid. Giving the background to the issue, Mr Koomson said GES employed them because of shortage of teachers in basic schools following the exodus of teachers to Nigeria. When the trained teachers returned, they were laid off without being paid any entitlement as has been done to public and civil servants.