Minister calls for an end to buck-passing

Kumasi, March 20, GNA - Papa Owusu Ankomah, Minister of Education, Science and Sports has called for an end to the buck passing of duties in the Ghana Education Service (GES).

He said as a Minister, he would not sit down and allow this type of bureaucracy to continue and that anybody caught for negligence of duty would pay for the price.

Papa Owusu Ankoma was addressing a durbar of teachers and other major stakeholders of education in Kumasi on Monday as part of his three-day duty tour of the Ashanti region.

He said the government recognized the role of teachers and that they should stop their cynical attitudes and work hard as expected of them. The Minister said the government over the years had been working assiduously to improve on their working conditions, an indication that it was committed to their welfare.

He stressed that major reforms were to take place somewhere in the year and hoped that all stakeholders would redouble their efforts to make it a success.

He said by September this year, the government might have completed the evaluation of salaries of all public workers and would be placed on the correct span.

He said for the exercise to succeed there was the need for all workers especially teachers to co-operate because the greater part of the salaries go to the GES.

Touching on the welfare of teachers, the Minister indicated that vehicle ownership and housing scheme programme were being worked out for members of the GES.

He said a Committee had completed work on it and had submitted its report, adding that, the Committee in the report indicated a quantum of amount that would be needed to make the vehicle loan scheme feasible. The Minister who had earlier held meetings with the staff of the regional education directorate visited Kumasi Anglican secondary school, one of the model schools which is undergoing an upgrading, the Baba Yara Sports Stadium and a model basic school at Ejisu, which had been constructed by the Ejisu-Juaben district assembly.