The General Secretary (second left) addressing the media
Leadership of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has appealed to government to address some issues that can adversely affect academic work in the educational sector.
Addressing the media at a press conference yesterday in Accra, TEWU indicated that the situation at the Senior High School (SHSs), Colleges of Education, Technical Universities and other public universities could affect academic work, if not addressed.
General Secretary of TEWU, Augustine Saakuur-Karbo, who addressed the media, said as part of efforts to promote harmonious relations between TEWU and its social partners, government must take a critical look at some issues affecting the educational sector and find solutions to them.
Key among them were the infrastructural challenges facing Senior High Schools (SHS) due to the introduction of the Free SHS programme, poor conditions of service of staff of public universities, post migration bottlenecks of Colleges of Education onto the Single Spine Salary Scheme (SSSS) and the poor conditions of teachers serving under the Ghana Education Service (GES).
“As a union, we see some worrying signs that we will not hesitate to express concerns about. One of these is the release of funds by government and the way heads have been directed to expand the funds. We see a major challenge in this area,” he said of the SHS programme.
“Another challenge is about the student numbers and the space in terms of infrastructure in the various schools. There will be the need to expand the existing infrastructure to accommodate the growing numbers. As the policy runs into the second and finally to the third year, the current infrastructure cannot support the growth in student population,” he added.
He also called for probe into allegations of matrons stealing of foodstuffs from schools, saying “The union does not in any way endorse any wrongdoing and hope the necessary administrative mechanisms in handling such matters in the schools will be evoked in addressing these disciplinary issues.”
That notwithstanding, the General Secretary urged government to pay attention to the welfare of the matrons and to see how best they can bring an end to the practice of using firewood to cook in schools.
“The smoke and heat from the fuel wood can pose lots of health challenges to these matrons. Government, management and other stakeholders need to look at these conditions and help to improve them for our matrons and their staff to continue to give off their best in serving mother Ghana,” he said.
By Melvin Tarlue