Mr Chris JoJo Arhin Arthur, the Parliamentary Candidate for the New Patriotic Party, has assured Teacher Unions of the government’s commitment to the ongoing negotiations of their collective bargaining agreement, to promote quality work and welfare of teachers.
He said government under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia would continue to create the enabling environment for teachers to discharge their professional duties in a decent manner without any hindrances.
Mr Arthur gave the assurance when he addressed over 300 teachers from Agona East and West Districts after a four-hour health walk, as part of the May Day celebrations at Agona Swedru in the Central Region.
He said teachers played vital roles in the training of children, and the government would not do anything to undermine their work but committed to enhance quality teaching and learning.
Mr Arthur said government would provide adequate teaching and learning materials and infrastructural development for all schools.
He urged teachers to support the government to enact more policies to enhance their conditions of service.
Mrs Ernestina Ofori Dangbey, the Agona West National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate, also said the next NDC government would provide quality conditions of service to ease the current hardship teachers were facing.
She said the free Senior High School Policy, though good, had many flaws which needed to be corrected by the government and assured that under Mr John Mahama these challenges would be addressed to make it better for teachers work.
She also urged teachers to rally behind the NDC to win the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections for attractive conditions of service.
Mr Thomas Coffie, the Agona East Director of Education, urged teachers to eschew apathy and negative tendencies that undermined their work.
He said the date for reopening of school had not been changed as some social media reports were speculating and urged teachers to get fully ready and return to their various schools to teach.
Mr Bismark Offei, the Agona West Municipal Director of Education, cautioned teachers to be circumspect about numerous products being sold to them on credit basis as majority were fake while some were just in to defraud them.
He asked teachers to be role models to their pupils and students so that the children would grow up to become useful adults in the society.
Mr Daniel Lavoe, the Agona East and West Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), said teachers in the two districts had made a policy to organise health walk and screening on every holiday to enable them to know their health status.
He said the ongoing teacher unions’ negotiations with the employer would be pursued to help improve the conditions of service for members.
He said the unions would resist any attempt by the government to refuse to accept the collective bargaining agreement negotiations and expressed the hope that the employer would agree to avert any future strike action that would disturb teaching and learning
