The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG), has petitioned the Education Ministry for an extension of the semester’s academic calendar to enable them make up for the time lost following the ongoing strike by their teachers.
Speaking to Citi News, the National President of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana, Jonathan Apam, explained that an extension of the academic calendar had become necessary in order for the students to stand a better chance of passing their upcoming exams.
[contextly_sidebar id=”8wk9QSqP5ViGsch8L13lMGJ3Pf9jmT33″]“They should postpone the academic calendar from where it has been scheduled for because exams are upcoming. Institute of Education should look into the academic calendar. No government institution or stakeholder will say, when students pass out of the result of the strike, they will only say they didn’t learn and that’s how come they failed or were sacked out of the colleges “he said.
The trainees had earlier warned that if government fails to ensure the return of their tutors to the classrooms soon, they would be forced to take other steps to bring pressure to bear on the administration.
Jonathan Apam, at the time, described the consequences of the strike as dire, hence the need for government’s immediate intervention.
“We are trying to propagate the effects of it [strike] because it appears government is not aware of how the strike is affecting students. For about two, three weeks now, our teachers have not been teaching. This is the time that second years are doing all methods of teaching. This is the time that we have newly admitted students. This is the time that trainee teachers in the basic schools doing their teaching practice are supposed to be supervised. If we fail… we will be sacked. Cape Coast or Institute of Education will not care whether there was a strike or not,” he said.
Colleges remain closed
The 38 Colleges across the country remain closed after djalogue between the government and striking members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), yielded no result.
CETAG have been on strike since November 2, 2017, demanding the immediate payment of their nine-month salary arrears, allowances and market premiums.
The tutors are also seeking improved conditions of service.
–
By: Farida Yusif & Akosua Ofeiwaa Opoku/Citifmonline.com/Ghana