Teacher Unions used Teachers’ Pension Money to finance government’s 70% TM 1 Laptop deal – NAPO

EducationGhana| December 03| TM1 LAPTOP: Three major Teacher Unions, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned teachers -Ghana (CCT-GH) have used  Unions  Teachers’ Pension Money to finance government’s 70% TM 1 Laptop deal.

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 the former Minister, the laptop programme was being supported by Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND).

He continued, that GETFUND, who complained of not having enough money to support the project, was raising a bond which the teacher union leadership used their pension contribution at the Ghana Education Service Operational Pension Sxcghemem (GESOPS) to buy the GETFUND bond to be able to finance Government’s 70%.

The Negotiations

NAPO indicated that it was the Teacher  Unions and the Ghana Education Service that went into the negotiations with KA Technologies Ghana Limited to produce the laptops and not the Ministry of Education.

He added that the decision for 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).

 

The Launch

Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh said that though he was with the teachers as an Education Minister during the early stages of the laptop cost-sharing discussions, he was not even invited to the launch of the Laptop distribution.

He bemoaned how the media was attacking him for signing a contract that was described as illegal of which he did not.

He however said the cost of the laptop was GH¢1,550

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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.

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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.

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