Teacher Unions Announce Strike Over New GES Boss; Issues Date For The Strike Action

Four teacher unions have threatened a strike on November 4, 2022, over Ghana Education Service (GES) Director-General (DG) Dr. Eric Nkansah.

King Ali Awudu, President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana, informed a news conference that education stakeholders GNAT, NAGRAT, CCT, and TEWU are still unhappy over Dr. Eric Nkansah’s appointment and are not willing to cooperate with him.

If the President doesn’t rescind the nomination, teacher unions will strike on November 4, 2022.

“Brouhaha concerning the removal of the DG of GES Prof Opoku Amankwa and other problems impacting the education service that we were dealing with have stopped. We regret the GES DG’s removal and appointment.

“It’s regrettable that the argument is being made to make it look that no one in education has the skills and capability to be DG of GES. The Minister for Education advised the president that the abilities of the just-fired GES DG are no longer needed. Why are bankers required to oversee education but not educators? Awudu cried.

The group questioned why the minister wants to run the GES that way.

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Mr. Awudu stated: “Let’s make it clear, contrary to what the minister is stating that Dr. Eric Nkansah has taught in a primary school previously, and he has also taught geography in a particular SHS before, the schools we don’t even know.

“But it’s unfortunate that the Minister of Education who himself has done education does not know that the mere fact that someone has taught in a classroom before does not mean that particular person has done education, the fact that someone has taught in a primary school and the SHS doesn’t make the person a professional and doesn’t mean they have done education, so the Minister should come again and stop throwing dust in the eyes of the people.”

The district and regional directors are displeased with Dr. Nkansah, and the teaching unions want him removed immediately.

“If sanity and peace are to prevail at the industrial level in the GES, we do not want to have industrial problems only because of Dr. Nkansah because he doesn’t even deserve that attention in the first place.

“We’re asking the minister to inform the president of an error to be remedied. We are claiming that if Dr. Eric Nkansah remains as GES DG by next Friday, there would be GES industrial unrest.”

After Professor Akwasi Opoku Amankwaa was fired, teacher unions lamented the stagnation.

Things complained: “Moving ahead, there were certain problems that we were working with Prof Kwasi Opoku Amankwa, and all of a sudden they have come to a standstill. We discussed the laptop distribution delay, upgrading teachers, teachers in poor areas, lower ranks promotion, and CPD points with Prof. Opoku Amankwa.

“On Monday, we met the DG of GEs on all concerns and began solving them. For instance, the last report on teachers in impoverished neighborhoods was due on Friday.

“The Monday we met the DG, the union committee was due to give its final report on the impoverished neighborhoods on Friday, so we could transmit it to the president and cabinet for implementation. To make rural teachers happy by giving them 20% of their basic compensation. “Everything has stopped,” CCT-Ghana President said.

Before the firing and appointment of the new DG, the offended teacher unions were upset.

“The Monday that we met the DG, and we were talking about this delay of laptops, upgrading, teachers in deprived communities, lower rank promotion, CPD point accumulation, the next day Tuesday, it was in the news that the DG has been sacked making our scheduled meeting with him, the Friday off the same week useless and valueless, so we could not hold that meeting, and we are not ready to hold any meeting with Dr. Nkansah because we do not recognize him as our DG. He won’t call us to meetings, we won’t mention that he’s our DG, and the Minister for Education should stop tossing dust in people’s eyes.

“We all have viewed Dr. Eric Nkansah’s CV, and there’s nothing in his CV that indicates that he has read education, not a diploma in education, postgraduate diploma in education, bachelor of education, master of education, or Ph.D. in education.

“So you cannot dismiss someone who has a Ph.D. in education and introduce someone who has close to no education to oversee educational issues. That we won’t agree,” teacher unions concluded.