Nobody can sack any teacher in public school: Facts and Law will not permit it

Nobody can sack any teacher in public school: Facts and Law will not permit it.

The call by Prof. Addai Mensah that the GES should give public school teachers 3 months’ notice and thereafter sack them, employ head teachers, give the head teachers the right and responsibility to recruit teachers, and then ensure they (Headteachers) of public schools get teachers to work hard and be held accountable for the output of the teachers is not something we can practice within the public sector as is the case in private business.

The Labour law of Ghana will not even permit this for several reasons. The labour law protects the employment of those employed by the government. Under the labour law, upon the termination of an employment contract, the employer may be called upon to prove to the satisfaction of the court or the labour commission that the termination was fair. What will be the basis for terminating the appointment of teachers after giving them three months’ notice?

Nobody can sack any teacher in a public school and it is not as easy as it may look to terminate the appointment of all teachers.

Employment contracts are not lifetime contract and so public sector workers like teachers employed by the GES can be terminated at anytime by the Employer. However, the grounds for termination must comply with the relevant labour laws and the terms and conditions contained in the employment contract.

Employment contract is described as a contract between an employer and employee in which the terms and conditions of the employment are contained. In addition to the terms and conditions contained in the employment contract, the Labour Law Act, 2003 (Act 651) (“the Labour Law”) and the relevant sections in the act inserts further terms and obligations on the parties in respect of the employment contract.

GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

The Labour law has provided the following lawful grounds for termination of an employment contract:

1. Mutual agreement between the employer and the employee;
2. upon the death of the employee before the expiration of the period of employment
3. If the worker is found on medical examination to be unfit for employment;
4. If the worker is unable to carry out his or her work due to:
   1. sickness or accident; or
   2. the incompetence of the worker; or
   3. proven misconduct of the worker.

TERMINATION WITHOUT REASON

There is a lot of confusion about the legal implication of termination of employment contract without a reason. It had been decided in several cases, and before the enactment of the Labour Law, that an employment contract can be terminated by the Employer anytime without given a reason for the termination.

This position overtime has changed after the enactment of the labour law.

FAIR AND UNFAIR TERMINATION

Under the labour law, upon termination of an employment contract, the employer may be called upon to prove to the satisfaction of the court or the labour commission that the termination was fair. The termination can be deemed to be unfair termination when the employer, when called upon, is not able to prove that the termination was fair.

The labour law defines fair termination as termination by the employer on any of the following grounds:

1. that the worker is incompetent or lacks the qualification in relation to the work for which the worker is employed;
2. the proven misconduct of the worker;
3. redundancy under section 65;

On the basis of the above, an employer who terminates an employment contract without given reason may be called upon to prove that the termination was fair. However, if the employer is unable to prove same, the termination may be deemed to be an unfair termination.

It is therefore imperative that grounds for termination of employment contract should be streamlined in line with the labour laws of Ghana to limit any potential of employment dispute.

In summary, termination of an employment contract in Ghana may be deemed to be lawful and fair if the termination is based on one of the following grounds:

1. Incompetence of the employee.
2. Redundancy of the employee
3. Mutual termination
4. Ill health of the employee
5. Proven misconduct of the employee
6. Death of the employee

The government has failed to provide textbooks, teachers work in deplorable conditions in schools, and there are schools without desks among others, to say the least. Teachers are not motivated enough to give off their best. How do you defend the decision to terminate the appointment of teachers? In this country, teachers in public schools remain the only public sector workers whose performance and output are easily questioned.

What will be the ground upon which the government will terminate the appointment of teachers in public schools and will the teacher unions watch aloof for their members to be abused? Can the government pay the damages that will come with the termination of the appointment of these public sector workers if they decide to bring a court action against the GES collectively and individually?

Under the labour law, upon the termination of an employment contract, the employer may be called upon to prove to the satisfaction of the court or the labour commission that the termination was fair. What will the GES be saying when called?

If Prof. Addai is calling for teachers to be sacked, is he calling for interdiction or suspension of the teachers?

Suspension is sometimes used interchangeably with interdiction. The two words are, however, not one and the same. A worker is said to have been interdicted when that worker excuses himself from work, at the instruction of the employer, for an inquiry to be conducted into an alleged misconduct.

On the other hand, the term “suspension” refers to a situation where the worker is asked to excuse himself from employment by reason of some misconduct.

Whereas for interdiction, the worker steps aside for a while for investigations to be conducted into an alleged wrongdoing, in respect of suspension, the worker steps aside or ceases to work for a period of time as punishment for the misconduct. The exercise of the right to interdict or suspend has legal implications. What wrong have the teachers in public schools done for which reason they should be sacked?

Prof. Addai must not forget that there are legal matters and issues that will hit the government so hard if something funny like he is suggesting should be carried out.

You cannot terminate the appointment of teachers and where you attempt, you may have to consider giving them individual hearings prior to their dismissal.

As indicated earlier, following the findings of the investigation, the employee may either be reinstated or dismissed. There must however be a hearing prior to the dismissal. In accordance with the principles of natural justice and/or administrative justice, the interdicted employee must be informed of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The employee must also be given adequate time to prepare his defense.

Headteachers, Teachers, and Performance Measurement

The performance of head teachers and teachers also hinges on resource availability. To what extent is the government ready to resource heads and their schools to procure all the needed teaching and learning materials and the provision of conducive environments? In his submission, he also failed to touch on staff rewards and motivation which are very important elements that can positively impact teacher performance in public schools.

If we want to measure the performance of teachers and head teachers in basic schools, it will have to do more with non-financial factors such as student academic progress and development, and outcome of examinations among others however, within our education sector these key elements are ignored even when it comes to accessing teachers for promotion purposes.

Truth be told, the suggestions posited by Prof. Addai may sound good and radical, but these suggestions cannot independently help produce the kind of productivity we want to see in public schools.

Teachers’ and Headteachers’ performance measures in public schools must be structured in such a way that it provides these two stakeholders with incentives to make decisions that are best for the entire school where they both work to bring about goal congruence.

If you want to determine the productivity of teachers and headmasters using the approach being suggested, then it will be prudent that in measuring the performance of the head teacher, only factors that are under his or her control are considered. If the head teacher will be appointing teachers they want to work with, then we can hold heads accountable in that regard but what of the financial resources they need for their work, books, desk, and other resources? What about the salaries the head teacher may deem fit to be paid to the various teachers?

The kind of system being suggested by Prof Addai will also require that head teachers determine the compensation that each teacher they decide to work with should be paid. Would the government be ready to listen to the head teacher and pay huge salaries if the head believes that will help him attract the best teachers to his school to meet the targets?

Furthermore, if the sole aim of the strategy is to bring about improvement in teacher and learners’ performance, the question again is are we looking at short-term objectives or long-term objectives for the head teacher and the teachers? Whatever objective it is, who sets them? The teachers and the head, or will it be the government?

If the government is going to set the objectives, that will in itself also be problematic.

What quantitative and qualitative factors will be considered in assessing the head teacher and the teachers?

You cannot just use your whims and caprices to take a decision or make a weak suggestion that the appointment of teachers should be terminated and also think that that will solve the many challenges that confront the public school system. This is never strategic, it is not feasible under our labour law and public sector employees cannot be manhandled the way some do it in private institutions in this country.

Before I end, these are some questions teachers want Prof. Addae to answer.

It is important that speak about education without emotions but with records, facts, the law, and data. Comparing his school to the public school, the infrastructure alone is enough, does he know the conditions under which these teachers work?

Which calibre of parents have their kids in Prof. Addai’s school?

How many kids in his school, come to school without books and pens/ pencils?

How many come in tattered cloth?

How many come with empty stomachs?

What distance do the kids in his school walk a day before they access education?

What is the rate of absenteeism by pupils in his school?

Many problems lead to poor performance in public basic schools. It is not just supervision.

There are teachers who teach in villages and often have to go to houses to beg JHS pupils to come to school each day.

Teachers and head teachers are not the problems. They should be rather empowered and motivated to deliver while the government also performs its duties effectively and efficiently. Motivated staff who are resourced to work in a conducive environment will work better and hard with less supervision.

Nobody can sack any teacher in a public school and it is not as easy as it may look to terminate the appointment of all teachers. Let us improve the efficiency of public sector management and service quality and provide the needed resources and motivation to drive productivity in public schools. Do not shift the inefficiency of the government to the doorsteps of teachers who are already sacrificing their lives away for the country.

References: Law labour, Act 2003 (Act 651), Cost and Management Accounting (Richard Oduro) and mondaq.com

Source: Wisdom Hammond| Lecturer |Public Speaker and Leadership Expert | Content Creator