Cancellation of Teacher Trainees Allowance was a decision by Former President Kuffuor- ASEPA

The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) is accusing the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of lying to Ghanaians about the cancellation of the teacher trainee allowance by the erstwhile government.

According to the anti-corruption and civil advocacy group, contrary to the notion the Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang supervised the cancellation of the teacher trainee allowance during the Mahama administration, it was rather a decision by former President John Agyekum Kuffuor.

ASEPA explains that reforms under the Kuffuor administration during his reign as President made provisions for the total cancellation of the Teacher Trainee Allowance for first-year teacher trainee students in 2009 and the subsequent facing out of allowances for Continuing students.

Therefore the decision by Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang as the Education Minister under the Mahama administration to replace teacher trainee allowance with student loan was never her decision but rather in accordance with the White Paper issued by President Kufuor and the NPP on the Prof. Jophus Anamoah-Mensah Committee on Education Reforms.

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Read ASEPA’s statement on the matter below:
1. In 2002 President John Agyekum Kuffuor Commissioned an Educational Reform Committee headed by the Former Vice-Chancellor of University of Education, Prof. Jophus Anamoah-Mensah.

1. The Committee made a number of recommendations which was duly accepted by the President including the popular four years SHS system.

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1. In 2008 as part of the second phase of the implementation of the Jophus Anamoah-Mensah Committee Report, President Kuffuor issued a White Paper on Education Reforms.

2. As part of the reforms on Emoluments, the White paper observed that wages and in the case of trainee teachers allowances posed a huge burden and impediment in the training of more teachers and to reduce the Pupil-Teacher ratio in our public schools.

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1. The White paper, therefore, made provisions for the total cancellation of the Teacher Trainee Allowance for first-year teacher trainee students in 2009 and the subsequent facing out of allowances for Continuing students.

2. The White Paper also made provisions for the Trainees who would be taken off the allowance to access students loans to facilitate their studies.

3. This White Paper, therefore, settles the debate on trainee allowance that the idea to replace teacher trainee allowance with students loan was never the decision of Prof.Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang but that of the White Paper issued by President Kufuor and the NPP on the Prof. Jophus Anamoah-Mensah Committee on Education Reforms.

4. That the Policy in itself was the only way more teachers could be trained to replace the ever-growing number of pupil teachers in our schools at the time.

Signed:
Mensah Thompson
Executive Director, ASEPA
0542120628

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