GNAT reacts to GES’ interdiction of WASS Headmistress

Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has reacted to the interdiction statement issued by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to the Headmistress of WASS.

In an official release dated 21st July, 2023 and signed by Thomas T. Musah, the General Secretary of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNA), the association said their attention has been drawn to a “document circulating on social media, dated 19 July, 2023, and signed by Cassandra Twum Ampols, Head, Public Relations Unit of the Ghana Education Service, GES”

The document reads:

Management of GES has interdicted Dr (Mrs) Shine Agatha Ofori, Headmistress of West Africa SHS, for the unauthorised collection of money from students.

That, consequently,

She is to hand over the administration of the school to the Regional Director of Education, pending final determination of the case by the Regional Disciplinary Committee.”

Reacting to the circulated document, GNAT raised some issues from the room of GES and seeks for answers to their posed questions.

GNAT’s reaction

“Once again, the Ghana Education Service, GES, has gone into the overdrive, and is at its usual sinister best, seeking to cover its own shortcomings of not addressing the numerous challenges facing the smooth running of the public basic and secondary schools.

“This behaviour is bringing the personalities of school heads and teachers, and their skills and competencies into question, disrepute, and opprobrium. The GES must put its own house in order internally, before going to town every now and then with school heads who have become pawns in its blame game.

“Indeed, we are amazed, that the vogue now is the GES interdicting public school heads of unauthorised collection of money from students, which in many instances, turn out to be false and subjecting them to psychological trauma, moral turpitude and impugning their reputation.

“Few months ago, it was Tema Senior High School; days later it was Aburi Girls and Achimota, and hours later Tamale Senior High and Fijai, and now WASS.

“The Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, would like to find out from the GES:

1. Whether pre-financing the running of schools by the Heads in terms of capitation grant, administrative cost, and meeting other overhead cost from their own resources to be recouped later constitute an infraction?

ii. Should Heads allow their students to go hungry as in the case of Binduri SHS which resulted in a riot leading to the temporary closure of the school as carried by the Friday, 21st July, 2023, Editorial of the Daily Graphic Whether the PTA and Old Boys / Girls Associations can appropriately support the schools using their own resources both in cash and kind?

iv. Why should school heads who are very responsible people and taught many of the policymakers be made to keep quiet over the ineptitude of the said policymakers?

v. As citizens, why can’t they complain or cry out, when things are not going on well in their schools?

“The other day, the Head of Fijai school was at the receiving end, only for the PTA to come out to absolve her/him of any wrongdoing or malfeasance; but then the harm had already been done.

“How would she/he hold herself/himself in society and before her/his students, family, church, mosque, and the larger society henceforth? And now Dr. (Mrs) Shine Agatha Ofori? Would these persons be restituted in the end, if found to have committed no wrong? We await an answer from the GES and all who matter.

“At this juncture, we wish to advise all school heads, teachers, and our members, not to pre-finance the running of the schools from their own resources, going forward, since doing so would be misinterpreted, and awarded with shame, suspension, and interdiction, as has happened to Dr. (Mrs) Shine Agatha Ofori and her colleagues.

“And to the Ghana Education Service, GES, we wish to state categorically that, Enough is Enough! We are fed up, and the earlier GES stopped embarrassing school heads, teachers, and all other staff in the sector, the better it would be for all of us. The GES must acknowledge its own “blackness” before calling school heads, teachers, and the ancillary staff “black”

“To Dr (Mrs) Shine Agatha Ofori and all who have suffered similar fate, we say “we are with you in spirit and solidarity” forthwith, GES!

“School Heads and Teachers’ reputation matter, stop embarrassing and harassing them.”

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh