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Opinions of Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Columnist: Ekow Paintsil Djan

NDC will restore automatic employment of newly trained teachers

File photo of teachers  writing licensure exams File photo of teachers writing licensure exams

In my sincerest opinion, I believe this is the most important of all promises made to trainee teachers by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

We will recall that the current Minister of Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh stated in Ghana’s Parliament on Tuesday 12th March, 2019 that the Akufo-Addo government has taken away automatic recruitment of teachers from Colleges of Education. [reference can be made to a story filed by the Daily Heritage newspaper on 13th March, 2019]

This, the Minister meant, Trainee Teachers who enjoy direct employment into the Ghana Education Service (GES) upon completion of college will no longer have that opportunity.

This saw a ferocious resistance from the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) for the government to rescind its decision; and yet the insensitive Akufo-Addo government would not listen.

Annoyingly, they go about boasting that they have “restored trainee teachers allowance.”

May I ask, of what importance is allowance to trainees, when they complete to stay home jobless?

The most important aspect of every trainee’s life is to be employed as soon as they complete college.

This is the very key aspect that has been neglected by the NPP. Employment is more important to trainees.

16000 trainees who were due for employment were denied in 2018. In 2019, GES recruited only 14000 out of the 16000 Qualified Teachers.

I hear friends from the Ministry of Education claiming on Radio and TV that those who were denied employment failed to pass their examination. That is a blatant lie. I know colleagues who had passed their licensure exams and were even First and Second class upper students who were not employed for no reason.

It hurts!

Thankfully, the NDC is here to Rescue those Qualified Teachers; about 2000 of them.

Trainee Teachers stay calm! As soon as you complete in July, GES will automatically recruit in September; commencement of the academic year.

This can only happen when leadership is changed. It can only happen under the Presidency of John Mahama!