The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, appears infuriated with the Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s response to the underlying premise for the recent teachers strike.
He accuses the Akufo-Addo government and its ministers of being power-drunk, sleepy and this, according to him makes it difficult for the government to ‘man’ the affairs of the country.
His comment follows the sector Minister’s interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii S3n programme on Friday when the Minister alleged that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was behind the teachers strike.
Dr Opoku Prempeh claimed credible information available to him sought to suggest some NDC members met with some teacher groups to plan the intended strike.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament descended heavily on the Education Minister for what he believes are ‘unfounded’ accusations against the NDC.
According to him, the Education Minister and the NPP are in a realm of deceit, untruths and denials of the numerous decisions made in the education sector.
“Is the Minister for Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who made this allegation, suggesting that the teachers can’t think for themselves? They don’t know their rights? They don’t know their needs? He quizzed. ”
Dr Clement Apaak argues “the NPP-led administration will never take responsibility for its shortcomings and the consequences of its actions. ”
“Blame NDC for the lack of textbooks at the basic level based on the new curriculum which came into effect on September 10, 2019.
“Blame NDC for the no exams at the basic school level at the end of this term. Blame NDC for the poor implementation of the Free Senior High School policy/programme. Blame NDC for the obnoxious double-track system, which allows students to spend equal time at home and in school, and return to school having forgotten what they were taught, ” the statement said.
Background
Three teachers union, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers declared a nationwide strike effective today (Monday) over the failure of government to pay legacy arrears of members.
The aggrieved teachers argue that the arrears span the period 2012 to 2016 – a situation they described as worrying.
GES response
The Ghana Education Service (GES) expressed surprise at the teachers’ decision to strike on Monday.
According to GES, the industrial action declared by the teachers is illegal and “an abuse of the principle of good faith and good working relations”.
In a statement, the Service argued that it has held a series of meetings with the leadership of the teacher groups, where it discussed the payment of the said arrears, with the modalities involved, adding that the December 5, 2019 ultimatum given by the teachers was not realistic.
Source: theghanareport.com
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