The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Peter Nortsu Kotoe is urging members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) to resume work.
This follows a meeting between the Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF) and CETAG on the mass leave by tutors, which ended inconclusively on Tuesday.
Teachers in the 46 campuses nationwide have proceeded on an annual leave following a directive by its leadership.
Speaking to Citi News, the Akatsi North legislator noted that members of CETAG must rescind their decision as they negotiate with government.
“Since the change in the academic calendar, they have been at work for the whole year and must be rewarded. I agree perfectly with their demands. My challenge is that, it is the employer that grants leave, so I will appeal to them to rethink their position and continue negotiating with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and other agencies such as the Ministry of Education”.
Already, the Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana says the mass leave by members of CETAG has left students frustrated.
The association bemoans the fact that final-year students, who have barely four weeks to complete school, live in uncertainty.
In an interview with Citi News, the National Secretary of the Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana, Sumaila Musah appealed to the appropriate quarters to ensure that the tutors resume work.
“We started prompting the stakeholders -GTEC, PRINCOF and then the other bodies including the Ministry of Education on the concerns that have been raised by CETAG, so the issues are addressed as soon as possible. But for us as students or leaders, we have less that we can do in this situation but to plead with the stakeholders to listen to our tutors.”
Members of CETAG proceeded on a mass leave on September 1 after working a year without break.
The group indicated that the introduction of the new academic calendar, which requires that teachers work an entire year without break, forced them to take such a decision.
Teachers in all the 46 public Colleges of Education who are members of CETAG on September 1, 2022, proceeded on a 28-day annual leave with an expected return on October 10.
They are also demanding full conditions of service and other compensatory packages.