GNAT Angry With Minister Over Threat To Sack Head-Teachers

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), is upset with the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s warning that basic and second cycle school heads, who oversee failure rates of 90 percent and above will be sacked.

According to the Education Minister, who was addressing heads of high schools in Kumasi, head-teachers would have to justify their continued stay accounting to the Ghana Education Service (GES) if they superintend poor examination results.

But reacting to the comments, which GNAT describes as a threat, the General Secretary of the Association, David Ofori Acheampong, said the Dr. Opoku Prempeh should have consulted with teachers on his position.

“We don’t think it is appropriate. I believe that there are so many problems confronting education in Ghana so if you come, I think the best thing is for us to have a consultative meeting. Let us discuss the challenges and see how we can resolve the problems.”

Mr. Acheampong also suggested that, it would be unfair to lay the blame for the failure rate of schools at the feet of head-teachers.

“I don’t know who gave him advice on this particular matter, but I think that if you want to trace the challenges and problems that have resulted in the low performance of some of our students, we cannot lay it wholly on the doorsteps of the teachers.”

“The very people who you are going to work with, the very people who are going to support you are the people you are threatening without even giving them a hearing, it is not proper,” Mr. Acheampong asserted.

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana