I will resign from Government if I ever signed any Laptop contract with KA Technologies – NAPO

EducationGhana| December 03| TM 1 Laptop: The Minister of Energy and a former Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Mathew Opoku Prempeh, NAPO has vowed to resign from the government should there be any document indicating that he signed a contract with K A Technologies Ghana Limited to procure laptops for teachers.

A former Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO) made this revelation in a radio interview with Kwame Sefa Kayi on Peace FM, an Accra based radio station on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

According to him, the teacher unions brought their own contract that they needed government support of which the Ghana Education Service (GES) was aware of the deal with the teachers.

He indicated that the negotiation was done between the GES, Teacher Unions and KA Technologies Ghana Limited.

He added that the decision for54 the unions and GES to work together was because of the employer-employee relationship of which the ministry was just an oversight ministry.

He said the GES and Teacher Unions, after their negotiations with the manufacturer, reported to him for the support of the government to pay 70% of the cost of the laptop.

He indicated, that he then wrote a letter and added the document from the teachers and GES to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) for approval since the teachers came with their own vendor(KA Technologies Ghana Limited).

Background

The government accepted a 70 -30 percentage cost-sharing deal to procure laptops to a contradictory 280,000 and 350,000 teachers at the pre-tertiary education levels.

The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Agbe Carbonu has said that it was not the duty of Teacher Unions to discuss with the government the type of Laptop to be given to teachers.

Angel made this revelation on Dwaso Nsem on Adom 106.3 FM in Accra on September 6, 2021.

During the phone-in discussion, the NAGRAT boss said the majority of teachers were happy with the government initiative to support their work with laptops in the current technological trends in education.

Cost of Laptop

Though Mr Carbonu was unsure of the exact cost of the laptop at the time of the interview, he later came out with a press statement to announce the exact cost of the Teachers’ Mate 1 Laptops.

The Unions in a letter drafted by the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) Angel Agbe Caebonu on September 6, 2021, indicated, that the One Teacher One Laptop Project was the intervention of the three Unions.

According to him, the three unions suggested to the government to provide laptops to all teachers to aid in effective teaching through the application and use of ICT.

Check This Out: Basic and SHS Teachers demand 5 allowances from the Government of Ghana

 

Conditions and Terms

He added, that the Government through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service headed to the call of the Unions under some under listed conditions and terms.

1. That Government will facilitate the acquisitions of the laptops
2. The GES will ensure effective distribution of the Laptops
3. That there will be cost-sharing as follows;

a. Government paying 70%

b. Teacher Paying 30%

1. That the teacher’s 30% component will not be deducted from the teacher’s salary but paid through the professional allowance allocations.
2. That the computers provided become the property of the individual teacher.
3. That the Company KA. Technologies provide Training and after-sale service to the teachers.

Breakdown of Cost

The breakdown of the Prices are as follows

1. Government GH¢1,282.03     –      70%
2. Teacher        GH¢549.44      –        30%

Total                 GH¢1,831.47    –      100%

 

Confusion

It is not clear how much the laptops cost since there has been contradicting costs being communicated by all stakeholders.

Watch Video Below: