Don’t Cry For Us

A group of teachers in the Upper West Region calling itself ‘Face The Facts’ has commended President John Evans Atta Mills for attending to the needs of teachers in the region in particular, and the nation as a whole. Members of the group conveyed their gratitude to the President and the NDC government at a press conference on Tuesday in Wa, the regional capital.

The development has exposed, as shedding of crocodile tears, a recent statement by former President John Agyekum Kufuor that teachers under the NDC government were not being catered for well enough and therefore the Mills-led government needed to tackle the problem. The teachers said they are better-off under the Mills government than the previous Kufuor government.

According to the spokesperson of the group, Sungbawiera Bashit, who read the press statement on behalf of members, “We have observed with keen interest the recent increases in the salaries of Ghanaian workers especially the teacher. Since May, 2010 teachers have experienced uninterrupted and quantum leaps in their salaries and we think as patriotic citizens, it is incumbent on us to give credit to where it is due.”

They said they are persuaded by the high sense of patriotism and sincerity of the Mills-led government and want to tap the government at the back for the real change that it has brought into the lives of Ghanaian teachers and workers in general. The group said in time past governments in Ghana scandalously maltreated teachers in the country by using coercive means to get teachers back to the classroom even if they embark on a strike action to call attention to their predicament.

According to the spokesperson, as late as 2007, teachers who went on strike had their salaries frozen as some too had their salaries withheld until the 2008 elections when the then NPP government saw defeat starring it in the face that a handful of them were paid, adding that if teachers were to revisit the ugly memories of frustrations and humiliations they suffered in the hands of the previous regime, no teacher according to the group will ever go back to such a leadership again.

He said under the Kufuor-led NPP government, at a time of teachers agitation for better salaries, the then Education Minister, Hon. Osafo Marfo, said disrespectfully that if teachers would not go back to the classroom, the NPP government was ready to recruit reverend ministers to take up the job of teachers.

The group also said under President Mills, teachers now are enjoying study leave with pay without any hindrance, since all that the teacher needs is to get admission into any tertiary institution and a study leave will be granted. “The previous [NPP] regime squashed this sterling educational policy alongside other opportunities for teachers thereby making it difficult for the Ghanaian teacher to access and upgrade himself or herself with quality education,” the group pointed out.

According to Mr. Sungbawiera Bashit, the President in his state of the nation address promised to put smiles on the face of the teacher and “Truly, we now concede that patience can move mountains. We are so blissful to the extent that words are not adequate to hail the President and his government for that continuous swift response to the plea of the teacher.”

The group said the unprecedented introduction of the 15% teachers’ retention premium is the first of its kind in the history of the country and therefore commended the NDC government for this wonderful achievement.

The group said last September also saw the 20% increment to all public sector workers which according to them is very much appreciated and called on its colleague teachers to put in extra efforts in their work to complement the good works of the NDC government, saying “We clearly admit that there still remain some public sector teachers who are exhibiting a high level of truancy and we wish to unequivocally condemn it”.

The ‘Face The Facts’ teachers’ group also thanked the President and his administration for the good work done so far, mindful of the trying times, especially the moment of trials the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is going through to hook the rest of the public sector workers onto the Single Spine Salary Structure and the payment of arrears owed workers. It is the belief of the group that the caring nature of the government will continue to translate into more salary increments for workers, especially teachers in the subsequent years to come.

They assured the President and his government their unflinching support for its policies and programs geared towards improving the lot of teachers in the country and workers in general.