Dr. Clement Apaak, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Education Committee, has slammed the government for its handling of several strike actions by various teacher unions ranging from elementary to tertiary levels.
The lawmaker who represents Builsa South constituents described the situation as unprecedented.
As a result, he has asked the government to address the teachers’ concerns so that they can return to their classrooms.
Four worker unions in Ghana’s public universities are currently on strike over working conditions.
University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), and Ghana Association of University Administrators are the unions.
The unions claimed that the government failed to resolve issues concerning their working conditions.
The unions have spoken out against what they call a “blatant unilateral variation of service in the face of hostile economic conditions.”
They want the government and all stakeholders to reverse the directive that jeopardises the working conditions of university employees.
The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Association of Ghana (CENTSAG) have also declared an indefinite strike.
This follows the government’s failure to address concerns raised about their working conditions.
The court recently ordered three pre-tertiary education unions, NAGRAT, GNAT, and CCT, to call off a strike.
In his submission, Dr. Apaak stated that the president has degraded the education sector and has failed to address the concerns raised by the various teacher unions.
He noted that the situation clearly demonstrates that education is in disarray and that the government appears to be at a loss for what to do.
“As I write, all teaching staff, and most non-teaching staff of public tertiary educational institutions in Ghana, under the Ministry of Education are on strike: UTAG, TEWU, GAUA, SSA, CETAG, CENTSAG, TUTAG. Unprecedented, and clear indication that our educational sector is in turmoil. Remember that Pre-tertiary education unions were compelled to return to the classroom by a court order, while negotiations with government on their issues continued.”
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