The Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) has called on the Polytechnic Teachers’ Association of Ghana (POTAG) to call off their four-month old strike.
According to GNUPS, their support of POTAG’s strike was based the belief that their demands were legitimate.
Polytechnic teachers all around the country have been on strike for over 16 weeks in protest of the government’s decision to stop the payment of book and research allowances to teachers.
However, GNUPS believe that the government’s recent show of commitment towards finding a solution to POTAG’s four-month-old strike should be reciprocated.
The government has said it will scrap the book and research allowance and replace it with the national research fund, which would require teachers to apply for funding to undertake their research.
And speaking in an interview with Citi News, the Coordinating Secretary of GNUPS, Kwame Amponsah, applauded the efforts made by the government and called on POTAG to call off its strike.
“Now that the government has openly come out to rescind its decision of not paying [the book and research allowances], they [POTAG] should call off the strike and come back to complete the academic year.”
He said that “it is very worrisome that POTAG is shifting their position.”
Mr. Amponsah added that “POTAG cannot leave the [polytechnic] students halfway,” having had their support from the beginning of the strike.
The call comes a day after the President of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), James Dugrah, on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, had said that the teachers will not return to the classroom unless the government pays their book and research allowance.
“I think you know want goes into teaching; if you don’t research can you go and teach? If you don’t research how can you just get up and go and be teaching…,’’ he told the host of the show, Bernard Avle.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana