President John Mahama has mounted a strong defence for government\u2019s decision to scrap the teacher trainee allowance and instead replace it with the students’ loan scheme.<\/p>\n
According to him, government had to take such a bold step due to what he describes as the \u201chigh cost implication\u201d involved in the payment process.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”YZo2Nd0tkzvdaK49rLKL4HZ100tUXN9Z”]Speaking at the University Of Education Winneba on Friday during his accounting to the people\u00a0tour, the President further explained\u00a0that government was compelled to over the years scale down the student intake in the colleges of education to cut down on the cost involved in paying the allowances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem with this allowance was that apart from the huge cost implication for the national budget, it also compelled government over the years to scale down the number of students entering into the colleges of education, through the imposition of what we call the quota system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mixed reactions over teacher trainee allowance<\/strong><\/p>\n There have been mixed reactions from Ghanaians on the withdrawal of the allowance by the government.<\/p>\n Teacher trainees have vowed to vote against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government if it fails to restore it\u00a0before the 2016 general elections.<\/p>\n Some Deputy Ministers; Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Felix Kwakye Ofosu were heckled at the Wesley College in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region over the matter as the trainees sought to\u00a0pressurize<\/u><\/span>\u00a0the government to heed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> their demands.<\/p>\n The Vice Presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has indicated that if they are elected into office in 2016, the NPP will restore the teacher trainee allowances.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n However, the NDC administration is sticking to its guns insisting it\u00a0will not be persuaded to restore the allowance system since it has outlived it’s usefulness.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Marian Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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