“The decision to embark on the strike comes as a surprise to us because at every stage of the process we involved the members, briefed them and they have been very cooperative until now,” the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said.
The Ministry of Education has expressed surprise at the decision of the teachers of Colleges of Education to embark on a strike action.
“The decision to embark on the strike comes as a surprise to us because at every stage of the process we involved the members, briefed them and they have been very cooperative until now,” the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said.
The teachers have for the past four years been pushing for an upgrade of their current status to that of teachers of other tertiary institutions to enable them enjoy the same remuneration.
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The National Secretary of CETAG, Mr Prince Obeng-Himah, said the government has been lackadaisical towards their demands, and hence their decision to begin the strike on September 12.
However, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has appealed to the said teachers to rescind their decision and return to work as negotiations continue.
He said about three weeks ago he personally chaired a meeting which was attended by the leadership of CETAG, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), during which the FWSC assured that it had completed its part and forwarded the necessary recommendations to the Ministry of Finance.
“After that meeting, the leadership told us that they were going to brief their members. We never heard from them until this development,” he said, adding, “We thought they understood us.”
Ablakwa said that the Ministry of Finance had communicated to the Ministry of Education that it had concluded with all the analysis and that “it will officially write to us”.
“So we are waiting for that official communication which will indicate the effective date the migration will take off,” he said.
The Deputy Education assured teacher trainees that government will do all it can to ensure that the academic year begins in earnest.