The Teacher Trainees across the forty-six (46) Accredited Public Colleges of Education in Ghana are worried over delayed in payment of their monthly students allowances by the government.
According to the students, the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) which has been contracted by government to disburse allowances hasn’t disburse money to them since the beginning of the Second Semester of the 2019/2020 academic year.
The Students disclosed that, government owes them three (3) months allowances thus: April, May and June. They added that, no positive information from government has been communicated to them concerning the accumulated monthly allowances.
A level two hundred teacher trainee from Akatsi College of Education Afeyetso Famous who brought the information to the attention of Coverghana.com.gh said, lives in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic coupled with E-Learning among others are making things very difficult for them.
In a statement, he is calling on the government through the Students Loan Trust Fund to disburse their accumulated monthly allowances to support their academic activities.
READ ALSO: Teacher Trainees express worry over non payment of their monthly allowances
Read below his full statement.
Education is one key factor to humans’ development. Without it, one might be limited in acquiring certainty. However, Ghana’s education system has been shaken by a global misfortune, Corona Virus pandemic.
Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, Ghana Education Service, under Ministry of Education of Government of Ghana, took the initiative and measures to prevent the second semester from being wasted by introducing a first time E-Learning for all Tertiary Students across the country.
As a student, I joined my colleagues, especially, students from the 46 public Colleges of Education to publicly agitate and cry out loud on how we students have been forcibly ordered to learn online without any relief packages, for our voice to be heard but to no avail. This situation has ended some of us in trauma and as a matter of fact, unable to attend most online lectures since the commencement of the semester online due to:
♥ our inability to purchase internet bundle to access lessons online.
♥ unavailability of smartphones/laptop computers for some students to use for online lectures.
Both Ministries of Information and Education on several press briefing, informed Teacher Trainees their allowances would be paid soon. The ministry also said government has given out Nurse and Teacher Trainees allowances to Student Loan Trust Fund to disburse and that the payment of the allowance for Three (3) Months (April, May, June) would be done by the end of June, 2020 but we students have seen no smiles on our faces by the end of that month. On this note, some students took it to the inbox of Student Loan Trust Fund, to enquire when their allowance would be paid, all they tell us is they are proccessing the payment and they do not have actual date to disburse the money to trainees to help contain their challenges.
I do ask myself, is the government deceiving us, that it has given out money to be disbursed to trainees? Even if SLTF received money from government to be given to trainees, what is keeping them from feeling the pains of Teacher Trainees to release their allowance as per the Minister for Information’s statement on the date to disburse the allowance?
We are really suffering. Online studies with it’s challenges is another deadly disease that is killing trainees slowly. And so I would plead with the government and Student Loan Trust Fund to kindly release our allowances to us as soon as possible. As an activist, I can assure the aforementioned that, No Allowance, No Registration to Vote. And the concerneds need not to count Nurse and Teacher Trainees votes.
I urge all students concerned to keep calm and drive with one another to let our voices be heard.
Afeyetso Famous
Akatsi College of Education
