Sunyani teachers join strike

Sunyani Oct 16, GNA - Teachers in Sunyani Municipality on Monday embarked on a strike action in solidarity with members of the NAGRAT who are demanding for better conditions of service.

A visit to some public schools in Sunyani by the Ghana News Agency revealed that teachers were absent and the pupils and students could be seen playing and loitering around, whilst others were packing their books to leave for home.

At the Roman Catholic Primary and Junior Secondary School (JSS), Mr Collins Obeng Boahen, Circuit Supervisor for Sunyani "A" and Acting Regional Vice Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) was met addressing the few female teachers who had reported for work.

He urged them not to follow their colleagues on strike since if they did so their action would be illegal and had no basis to absent themselves.

Mr Boahen noted that so far, teachers in only three schools in the circuit were on strike, namely Urban Council Primary, Boahen Korkor Presbyterian School and Roman Catholic Primary and Junior Secondary School.

He said he met only the matrons in-charge of the feeding programme at Boahen Korkor who told him that the students reported for school but left after eating because there were no teachers.

The circuit supervisor said he personally used his mobile phone to call some teachers to ask them to report to school on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Mrs Akua Debrah, Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Education on Sunday appealed to teachers to rescind their decision to embark on the strike action, saying,

"We must trust and respect the President to deliver on his promise".

The regional director in the appeal on the BAR FM radio station was referring to the press briefing on the NAGRAT impasse in Accra last Thursday at which President Kufuor appealed to the teachers to go back to the classroom whilst the government and their leadership worked for a consensus.

She also appealed to chiefs, parents and other opinion leaders to impress on the striking teachers as well as those contemplating to join them to seek the interest and welfare of the children who form the foundation of the nation's development.

Mrs Debrah emphasised that the region lagged behind in education before the year 2000 but government interventions had provided a remarkable improvement in the standard of education, with impressive results in both the Basic Education Certificate Examinations and the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

"We do not want to slip back to the old days when our teachers left for neighbouring countries in search of greener pastures, to the neglect of the future of our children.

"We must listen to and give respect to the President. We do not have to destroy the future of our children and families through our crave for better conditions of service", the regional director cautioned.

Mrs Debrah noted that the strike action could jeopardise the on-going registration of students for both the BECE and the SSSCE and that would mean a slump in education in Brong Ahafo.