Augustine Saakuur Karbo
THE TEACHERS and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) has called on government to urgently reconstitute the governing councils of the various colleges of education in the country.
TEWU made the call in a statement issued by its General-Secretary, Augustine Saakuur Karbo, on Thursday, November 30, 2018. It stated emphatically that “just as government has done for the public universities, it should also reconstitute the governing councils of the colleges of education”.
It expressed the view that “the absence of governing councils for the colleges of education is affecting their operations in terms of how certain decisions that are supposed to affect staff are left in the hands of management which may be subjected to so much manipulation and arbitrariness.”
According to the statement, “the leadership of TEWU sees the current development regarding the issue of Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission as unfortunate.”
It added that this is because the governing council would have played a major role in dealing with the concerns of the tutors like market premium and other allowances such as the category 2 and 3 allowances.
As it stands now, it said, issues of understaffing, student graduation, promotion of senior staff members, among others, are being affected due to the absence of the councils.
It further claimed that “there are certain managerial staffs that are appointed by governing councils, and our members are qualified for these appointments, so with no governing councils in place, managements have no mandate to do so”.
It said: “Meanwhile, the members in those categories are performing the functions of which they are qualified academically, coupled with experience, and other things. But all these are lagging behind because there are no governing councils.”
Under Staffing
Besides, it noted that decisions on staff recruitment – both teaching and non-teaching – will need approval from the governing councils. There is serious under staffing at the colleges of education, as some staff members have been reassigned to the Ghana Education Service.
“It is therefore important to replace those who have been reassigned to GES based on the current dispensation where the colleges of education are now under the National Council for Tertiary Education. Also, some people have gone on retirement following the transition from the then colleges of education, which were under the Ghana Education Services.”
“The leadership of TEWU is aware some work is being done to reconstitute the governing councils, but is urging government to speed up the process.”
According to the statement, “It is important for the various stakeholders whose nominees will represent them on the councils to do nominations immediately.”
It added that “in the case of TEWU, we have met our rank and file at the various colleges of education, and we are more than ready with our representative for the council to complete the governance structures for smooth academic work and other activities at the colleges of education.”
BY Melvin Tarlue