By Gloria Agyeman Prempeh, KUMASI
The leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers in the Ashanti region has described government’s decision of taking away the teacher training allowance that has been a source of motivation to students as worrisome.
According to them, the move by government has betrayed the quality of education government is boosting of and has largely affected newly training teachers in terms of self-financing and that they will continue to speak until government listen to them as a union.
The Ashanti regional secretary of GNAT, Mr. C. K. Adu Nti in an interview with the New Crusading Guide said, the colleges of education is not second cycle institution to take exact, go to the dining hall, wear the same attire whereas the remaining tertiary institution takes student loans, move freely as mature people.
He said, the students of the colleges of education has to do a lot of things with the allowance and that the scrabbling of the teacher training allowance which some students used to buy some teaching and learning materials has been take away forever.
Mr.C.K Adu revealed that the decision by government has compelled parents to search for loans in order to pay for their wards school fees and practical materials which to him is very bad decision taken by government which he said, the teacher training allowance has been exiting long ago as a source of motivation.
He said government is defending the taking away of the allowance by saying it is a way to provide quality teachers in the country which to him it total uncalled for and if any case government want to promote quality teachers it’s the taking away the teacher allowance the solution?
The regional secretary averred that since the introduction of the policy, he has monitored closely and observed that teachers in the country has been betrayed by government and reiterated that any platform that will be given to them, they will continue to remind government to change his decision or else they will remind themselves as teachers union.
He threatened that if government continues to be adamant, they will face them squarely by going to the drawing board with a lot of options to be given and if failed they will know how to cross the bridge.
Mr. C.K Adu Nti explained that GNAT is a teachers union and that the teacher trainees when completed automatically becomes their members so they will not sit down and allow any bad decision that can jeopardize quality teaching and learning in the country.
He therefore appealed to government as a matter of urgency to rescind its decisions and restore back the teacher training allowance that it took away since it has brought serious challenges to GNAT as a union.