Teachers to sue GES over transfer grant

Some teachers who were transferred from their duty post under a rationalisation policy have threatened to take the Ghana Education Service [GES] to Court over unpaid transfer allowance, TV3 has gathered.

The Ministry of Education last year started a rationalization of staff aimed at ensuring comprehensive redeployment and even distribution of teachers.

According to the ministry, whereas there are about 24,000 excess teachers in the urban and peri-urban areas, the rural areas have a huge deficit of about 27,000 teachers.

Under the policy, the GES is expected to solicit funds from the World Bank to pay transfer grants for teachers re-distributed. Although the GES has reportedly not been able to re-distribute teachers for lack of funds, the National Association of Graduate Teachers believes otherwise.

Its National President, Christian Addai Poku, told TV3 that it has information that over 70, 000 teachers have been re-distributed without involving teacher unions. He noted some of those teachers have not yet been given their transfer grant, and have threatened to sue the GES.

"Ashanti Region for instance, over 3,000 teachers were redistributed without any recourse to modalities. The regional director or district director decides that okay I have gone to this school, three teachers must leave. He acts out of the discretion of the headmaster," he said.

He said, in view of the lack of clear modalities on the implementation of the policy, people have had a lot of issues with it.

"If it was properly done and the modalities spelt out, everybody [will] know that in the next two months, because I fall within this category, I will be transferred," Mr. Addai Poku said.

In another development, NAGRAT says it will support the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission in arresting and prosecuting teachers who presents fraudulent documents for salaries.

He also reminded government of the agreement they reached on October 14, regarding the payment of their transfer grants and incremental credits.