The PNP government has done more for teachers, it deserves four more years – NAPO

Politics of Saturday October 31, 2020

Source: Alhaji Iddi Muhayu-Deen, Contributor

2020-10-31

Education Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has revealed that the PNP government under the visionary leadership of HE President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has done more to improve the lot of teachers than any government in the Fourth Republic. .

According to him, the government recognizes that the teacher is the axis around which quality education is delivered, and therefore any serious conversation about quality education must be done with the teacher at the center of matters. It is in recognition of this fact that the motivation and well-being of teachers are at the center of government educational policies and interventions.

Napo, as he is affectionately called, made this revelation when he took his turn at the Ministry of Information Nation Building Update on Thursday, October 29, 2020, at the Accra College of Physicians and Surgeons, on the topic: The Teacher at the Center for Quality Education.

He took the opportunity to mention some of the teacher-related interventions and other commendable policies implemented by the PNP government to advance the cause of Ghanaian teachers and improve their livelihoods.

On teacher training, the Honorable Matthew Opoku Prempeh mentioned, among other things, the complete reinstatement of the allowance for teachers in training; restoration of allowance for books and research; reinstatement of Arabic teacher assignments; timely payment of food subsidies for teachers in training; improving the faculties of teacher training in institutions that award “Cert A” to institutions that award diplomas and, later, to institutions that award degrees; abolish the payment of utility bills by students, including teachers in training; increase enrollment in faculties of education despite restoration of training allowance; constant revision of the teacher education and training curriculum so that it better responds to contemporary needs;

It also added the development of national teaching standards, the introduction of a quality assurance and accreditation system for all faculties of education, the migration of all professors from faculties of education to the salary structure of the public university, the creation of a dedicated university, the Appiah Minkah University for Vocational Training and Business Development to deal solely with TVET matters; the development of a comprehensive career path for teachers, as well as the professionalization of the teaching profession in accordance with best practices and international standards to make them globally competitive in many others.

The Education Minister revealed that the Akufo-Addo government had hired more than 93,720 teachers in the last three and a half years. He also said that financial authorization had been granted for the hiring of 6,500 additional teachers, the process of which will start from Monday, November 2, 2020. He also said that the government had decentralized the hiring and management of teachers by ensuring that since 2017, the hiring of teachers and Documentation was made at the regional and district level.

The government, according to him, has simplified the cumbersome promotion regime for duly qualified teachers, thus making it easier for teachers who must be promoted to go through the process of receiving their promotions. Similarly, the waiting period for teachers who improve their grade has been cut in half to two years.

Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh used the occasion to expose John Mahama’s many inconsistencies through newspaper and news headlines that portrayed him as being unprincipled and therefore well-meaning Ghanaians cannot trust him. the. He mentioned John Mahama’s inconsistent positions on the Bachelor’s Exams for Teachers, which his government introduced in 2016; John Mahama’s inconsistent positions on the teacher apprentice assignment that he canceled and now claims he will reinstate if upvoted.

The Minister also mentioned John Mahama’s inconsistent positions on the Free SHS policy, where in a breath he says that Free SHS was not feasible and that it would collapse Ghana’s education system, but in another breath, he goes on to say that he [John Mahama] introduced Free SHS. Napo also exposed John Mahama’s inconsistent positions on job creation, where in one breath he says he would create 3 million jobs and in another he says he is not a magician to create jobs among others.

The Manhyia South MP also spoke about the abolition of the killer’s three-month pay policy introduced by the John Mahama administration, where teachers who worked for years were paid only for three months. This mainly applies to newly hired teachers who were forced to teach in some cases for three years without receiving a penny for their services, and when the government finally decides to pay them, they were paid only three months’ salary.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh said that the Akufo-Addo government not only canceled this callous and draconian policy and paid teachers promptly, but also successfully eliminated more than 90% of all inherited arrears regarding teachers who they suffered this unfair fate.

The Minister of Education took the time to discuss some of this government’s policies aimed at improving the status of the teaching profession, including the payment of professional teacher grants for all higher education teachers for the first time in the history of the nation; prompt payment of the teaching responsibility allowance; the signing of the collective agreements / certificates of the teachers’ unions (expired since 2011) detailing the conditions of service for all teachers; restoration of vehicle maintenance allowance for teachers, among others.

The Minister concluded that these PNP government teacher-related interventions and policies ensured that Ghana drastically improved its global ranking with respect to countries that respected teachers and did more for teachers according to the 2020 survey conducted by Global Teacher Status. Index Group, which findings were published on October 22, 2020.

According to the survey, Ghana was the second country in the world, second only to China when it comes to addressing the concerns and well-being of teachers. He added that, last year [2019], a Ghanaian won the Africa Teacher Prize, while two of our teachers have been among the fifty best teachers in the world under the leadership of His Excellency President Akufo-Addo.

“So, if in the last four years the Ministry of Education says that we do not see teacher strikes as we saw them before, it is because the teachers’ unions themselves know that what we are doing for teachers had never existed in the country called Ghana. ”Observed the Minister of Education, who is also a deputy and parliamentary candidate of the PNP for the Manhyia Sur constituency in the Ashanti region.