Press Release on Non-professionals PROVISIONAL LICENSE for Private School Teachers by the private school teachers association (Council of Private School Teachers (NCOPST))

PRESS RELEASE

REJOINDER: Non-professionals PROVISIONAL LICENSE

The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS), on 25th August, 2022, released a circular to her executive members drawing their attention to the on-going mass registration of non-professional teachers in Ghana who would be issued with the Temporary License by the National Teaching Council to allow them practise as teachers for the next three years.

READ: Private Teachers Non-professional Teachers Workshop Registration Open

Content of GNAPS’ Circular

The circular drew the attention of the executive members on the on-going process and asked them to take keen interest in it.

Point 3 of the circular stated “License will be issued to the schools so that in the event that the teacher leaves the school they forfeit the license”.

Our Position on the Matter

We, in the National Council of Private School Teachers (NCOPST), find this statement unacceptable, misleading and preposterous; a misinformation which will not inure to the benefit of Private School Teachers in Ghana. Again, the statement is illegal since it contradicts the dictates of the New Education Act (Act 1023).

We see a hidden agenda being imposed on private school teachers by our employers for their selfish gains against the will and the welfare of the teachers.

We are against this unfortunate directive by our employers and therefore, state categorically, without equivocation that we will oppose it with our last breath at any time anywhere.

READ: Attempts by school owners to seize Private School Teachers Temporary NTC Licence wrong – NCOPST

NTC’s Involvement in the Matter

We believe strongly that this obnoxious agendum of our employers is being imposed on us at the blind side of the National Teaching Council. However, if the NTC is a party to this illegality, then we are highly disappointed in them since this issue did not come up in our last stakeholders’ engagement meeting with them on 22nd August, 2022.

If there is any union to be engaged in this matter, it should not be our employers such as GNAPS, GNACOPS and others since they deal with schools and not teachers. Our employers are not obliged by any law to obtain and keep our license whatsoever for any reason.

The Dictates of the Law – Duty of the Employer (School Owners)

The New Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 (Act 1023), section 78, subsection (1) under the heading “Employment of Teachers”; sub-heading “Employment of Registered Teachers” clearly defines the responsibility of the employer (school owner) in the statement “A person shall not knowingly or negligently employ a person as a teacher in an institution unless the person is registered”.

The role of the employer per the Act is to employ registered teachers. The employer is not mandated by any law to obtain and confiscate (where necessary) the license of teachers.

The Dictates of the Law – Duty of Teachers on License Registration

According to the New Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020 (Act 1023), section 66, subsection (1) under the heading “Registration”; sub-heading “Registration Procedure” clearly defines the responsibility of the Teacher in the statement “A person shall practise as a teacher unless the person is registered as a teacher in accordance with this Act.

Subsection (2) A person who seeks to register as a teacher shall apply to the Registrar in the prescribed form. In view of the above registration procedure, THERE IS NO WHERE stated that school owners (employers) should register any type of license for their teachers. Rather, the teachers must apply for the license and take full control over it.

What Teachers Need to Know Going Forward

Teachers are to note and act according to the following directives to avoid being victims to the ploy of our employers:

The license registration being conducted by the National Teaching Council is the sole responsibility of the Council and not any school owner.

If our employers, see the need to support; we appreciate the gesture in good faith. We suggest that they subsidize the on-going license registration for teachers by paying for the training fee of Ghs150.00 while the teachers pay for the license fee of Ghs100.00. Nevertheless, if they wish to bear the full cost of the entire process, we will appreciate that. What we are against is their intention to use their “benevolence” as a bait to enslave teachers in their schools without any legal bases. Such illegality will not be tolerated.

NTC are not bound to issue the temporary license to any employer union (school owners). Teachers are to report any employer who will try to confiscate their license to us (NCOPST) for the necessary actions to be taken.
NTC is the only body which had the authority to confiscate or revoke or cancel the license of any teacher should the teacher misbehave or engage in misconduct.

We (NCOPST) are waiting on NTC to call for the next stakeholders engagement meeting to resolve this issue amicably. We will communicate the outcome of the meeting to our members (All Private School Teachers).

Conclusion

The license registration of non-professional teachers in Ghana is an intervention to allow non-professional teachers to practice as teachers for the next three years. It is a worthy course which all teachers must get involved.

The license registration process is an intervention approved by major stakeholders be implemented by the National Teaching Council together with School / Teacher union such as GNAPS, GNACOPS, NCOPST, NUPSG and others.

The National Council of Private School Teachers (NCOPST) is not against the exercise. However, we are opposed to the issuance of the temporary license of teachers to school owner’s unions (our employers) to be used to bond teachers to their schools against the will of the teachers. We see this situation as a clever means to enslave private school teachers in Ghana considering the relatively severe and harsh working conditions private school teachers have been going through over the years. We condemn this approach by our employers and therefore call on all non-professional teachers to resist it with all their might.

In the meantime, we call on all non-professional teachers to avail themselves by filling the google form using this link https://forms.gle/BMs2ZEYMRAoDfpHs8 and get registered for the temporary license.

Thank you.

Francis Gabriel Baiden Ackon K. JamesNational

Public Relations Officer Executive Director

(0240818171 / 0505895251) (0540560643)