National GNATOC updates after meeting Director-General
GNATOC National executives and GES Director-General
The leadership of National GNATOC sat with the Director-General of GES to discuss troubling issues under his jurisdiction.
According to the letter, signatories of Banayo A. Joshua (President), Akanyele Richard (Secretary), and Agalo F. Jerry (PRO) backed its release.
The letter stated that “The core mandate of leadership in representing a group of people is to effectively advocate for the interests and needs of the people. This has been our priority as leadership since we took over.”
Stating the engagement plan and how to propel the wheel for the best outcome, they detailed it saying “In the light of this, we engaged the National Executives of GNAT on the 2nd of August this year at the headquarters to discuss the concerns we have. An update on the outcome of this very important meeting was given to us via a communique on 8th August 2023.
“We further thought it wise to engage other key stakeholders in our quest to get a panacea to the concerns we have. We therefore booked an appointment with Director General of GES and eventually had a successful meeting with him at his office on Wednesday, 20th September 2023.
Upon meeting the Director-General of GES, the leadership discussed the troubling issues employees of GES are facing and have been facing for ages.
The issues discussed were;
- distribution of the TMI Laptops to over nine thousand (9,000) GNATOC members.
- posting of teachers returning from study leave to their chosen regions
- cancellation of 3 months validation policy after going on study leave with pay
- quick upgrading of teachers who return from study leave to the rank of Principal Superintendent
- release of promotion letters to GNATOC members who are promoted
The leadership disclosed that “In response to the issue of TMI, the Director General said he has severally engaged KA Technology, Teacher Unions, and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that every teacher gets his or her laptop.
He has given us his word in doing everything within his power to make sure we all get the laptops. With this and the distribution schedule we are all aware of as well as the outcome of our meeting with our mother union last month, we are optimistic that we will be served in October.
Moving to the second issue, he made it clear that “it has been a norm that sometimes teachers who are returning from study leave with pay are posted outside the 3 regions they choose in filling the online postings forms.
In registering our concern, we stated that teachers usually make certain considerations including family, accommodation, and other issues before choosing their regions.
In the event that they are posted outside these regions, it distorts all plans. In response, the Director General promised meeting the Human Resource as soon as possible to channel this concern to him.
We want to assure all members that for the first time, all teachers returning from study leave with pay this year will not be posted outside the 3 regions they chose.
Further, they presented third issues for response(s). “In presenting the third issue, we registered our displeasure in the way many Regional, Municipal, and District Directorates of Education treat teachers who go on study leave with pay in terms of validation.
“It is saddening that less than 3 months of going on study leave, many Districts stop validating teachers. Meanwhile, many of the Regional Directorates fail in releasing their master list which is a key required document in processing the teacher’s management unit.
“This gives rise to a lot of reactivation and salary issues. In response, he said he was going to schedule a meeting with all the stakeholders to make sure that this canker becomes a thing of the past. A teacher who is already on payroll should not suffer salary or reactivation issues because his or her management unit has not been changed after going on further studies.
“On points 4 and 5, he said they are already putting measures in place to ameliorate those problems. He assured us that upgrading to the rank of PS after completion will be swiftly done.
“According to him, all those who applied have been upgraded successfully with just 40,000 teachers left which will be cleared next month. The same applies to those who applied for promotion to SS1. He also pledged his commitment in making sure that the upgrading/promotion letters are given to the individuals involved.
The leadership of National GNATOC assured members that they are in this together and we will continue to deliver on their core mandate of pushing for the interest of the student-teacher.
“In unity lies strength so we continue to count on your maximum support in making National GNATOC great and strong,” National GHATOC’s word of encouragement.
SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh
