Ghana Education News Top Headlines For The Week

In the last week, there have been top stories in the Ghana Education News that are worth reviewing while we look at their pending implications in the coming weeks. Top among these are news relating to trade unions pending strikes.

Ghana Education News Top Headlines

Pre-Tertiary Teacher Unions Disappointed in Government

Over the week, the leadership of the three main pre-tertiary teacher unions expressed total disappointment due to the failure of the government to show full commitment to the issues on the negotiation table after they were compelled to call off their two-week strike.

They conveyed their frustration regarding their conditions of service and cautioned the public not to apportion any blame to the unions if they decide to take any drastic decisions or actions in the best interest of teachers.

Another strike action by the teacher unions will disrupt academic work and jeopardise the preparation of BECE and WASSCE candidates for their impending BECE and WASSCE examinations scheduled for July and August, respectively.

Teacher unions and other unions are set to strike on May 2nd.

Following the above issues, over six more workers unions have joined what has become known as the  and indicated that they will declare a nationwide strike on May 2 if the government fails to address issues outlined by the various labour unions.

It is expected that should the government fail to resolve pending issues, the trade unions will declare the looming strike on May Day, which happened to be a public holiday and a workers day in Ghana and across the globe.

Mahama meets teacher unions

The former President, John Dramani Mahama, who doubles as the flag bearer of the 2024 general election, has interacted with the three teacher unions.

At the event, John Dramani Mahama pledged his readiness to provide lasting solutions to the several problems that have plagued the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy and solicited input from all stakeholders on how to improve and deliver quality education in Ghana. You can read the full details of the story on John Mahama Meets Teacher Unions here.

Bawumia hosts the 2023 Junior Graphic Essay Competition Winners.

On April 19, 2024, the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, hosted the 2023 Junior Graphic Essay Competition winners at the Jubilee House. The programme offered the winners a rare opportunity to be at the Jubilee House and to interact with the vice president.

The competition was a collaboration between Graphic Communication and the Office of the President and aimed at unearthing creative writing talents.

The contributions of teacher unions and others to SSNIT are significant.

One of the major issues that will likely lead to an industrial action by May 2nd is the non-payment of their SSNIT and Tier-2 pensions. The various labour unions are likely to be protected since their contributions, which are to be invested on their behalf, have still not been used for the intended purpose.

As far as this is concerned, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (GNAT) has given the government up to one week to do the needful by paying the contributions for over 700,000 Ghanaian workers. Teachers and the Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of the TUC have joined the call to press on the government to ensure their pensions are not affected as a result of the delays.

In a related development, Mr. Austin Gamey has advised the government to prevent another nationwide strike by heeding the call from the trade unions early.

READ: Mega strike looms as teacher unions and others are unhappy with govt’s posture on negotiations

The government is expected to declare 1st May, 2024 as a statutory public holiday in Ghana.

Watch out for the next set of top Ghana education news headlines in our next post.