The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has complained that they were not consulted before the inauguration of a committee by the Ministry of Education on school reopening.
The Ministry of Education on August 19, 2020 inaugurated a 10-member committee to deliberate and counsel on the modalities for the reopening of schools in the pre tertiary subsector for the approval of the President.
Speaking on Radio Univers, General Secretary of GNAT, Mr. Thomas Musa indicated that the association only got information about the committee on social media.
“The committee has not contacted us. We only got to see the information on social media. In as much as we were not contacted earlier on it is not something that we can say that we are happy.”
He added that although GNAT was not consulted, the association, together with other teacher unions have set up their own committee to look into recommendations for the reopening of schools.
“We are putting a committee together, the committee is working and we are looking at all the four teachers within the pre tertiary education. These four unions will come together to have a look at the whole issue and see the way forward. Whatever comes out we will certainly let the GES and the minister of education know. At most we should get the report by next week.”
Mr. Musa however supported the decision by the Ministry of Education to reopen schools in the future. The association maintained that schools would sooner or later have to reopen.
Nonetheless, government would have to ensure that effective safety protocols are put in place to ensure that the students are safe in school.
“We can’t say schools should not reopen schools will certainly reopen and that is a constant variable. But the other issues are reports from the reopening and the ongoing exam, what is the position of the Ghana medical association on the reopening of schools. We should also look at reports on the current state of the PPEs and the Categories of students that must be allowed to go to school.”
Education Minister inaugurates committee to counsel on re-opening of pre-tertiary schools.
In a press release issued by the Ministry of Education, the Education Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh inaugurated a 10 member committee in Accra on the August 19, 2020 to deliberate and advise on the modalities for the reopening of schools in the pre tertiary subsector for the approval of the president.
The committee is chaired by a former Education Minister; Prof. Dominic Fobih and comprises of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, UNICEF, Private School Sector, and Parents. The committee is expected to report to the minister on Monday 21st September 2020 on its recommendations.
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