The Police on Wednesday prevented some trainee teachers from picketing at the premises of the Ministry of Education.
The trainee teachers were demanding their feeding grants and some arrears owed them by the government.
The trainees had earlier indicated in a statement copied to citifmonline.com said they had exhausted all efforts to get the government to pay feeding grants for students of colleges of education and salaries of newly trained teachers.
They said, “we would like to state our displeasure at the outgoing government for their gross display of negligence and neglect towards the fate of colleges of education and newly trained teachers across the country.”
They lamented that “the Government of Ghana over the years has treated teacher trainees so poorly and has refused to pay feeding grants to students after the scrapping of the teacher trainees’ allowances and several unfulfilled promises even by top officials like the President and the Vice president.”
Earlier this year, the government scrapped allowances of teacher and nursing and promised to pay them feeding grants but according to the President of the Trainee Teachers Association, Ekow Paintsil Djan, the government has not fulfilled the promise.
“They are owing us for about 3 semesters. For the current first years government owes that GH¢550. For the current level 200, the government owes than GH¢1,200 and those in level 300 government owes them Gh¢1,200 and those that have been posted, government owes them GH¢550.”
The Divisional Crime Commander at the Ministries Police Station, DSP Daniel Dzam-Tse said the presence of the trainees at the Ministry was illegal because they did not seek permission from the Police before assembling at the premises of the ministry.
Meanwhile the National Coordinator of the Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana, Shadrack Abbey who spoke to journalists after the incident said they were disappointed at the turn of events.
He said they want the government to as a matter of urgency pay their arrears just as it had done for other unions and groups including National Service personnel and nursing trainees.
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By: Jonas Nyabor & Zoe Abu-Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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