Teachers’ unions went on strike as a result of Adutwum’s actions in protest of the new GES Boss – Suhuyini

Tamale North Member of Parliament Alhassan Suhuyini has blamed the Minister of Education Dr Yaw Osei Aduwtum for the strike by the teacher unions over the appointment of a banker as Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Eric Nkansah.

Mr Suhuyini indicated that when the teachers raised their initial concerns, the posture of the sector Minister was that of ridiculing their concerns.

But for the initial conduct of the Minister, the teachers would not have declared strike, he said.

Speaking on the Big Issue with Berla Mundi on TV3 Tuesday November 8, he said “The three teacher unions can’t be wrong about the reasons why they oppose the appointment of Dr Nkansah. But the initial reaction is another problem that we have faced especially with regards to people who work and represent this government.

“The initial reaction was ridiculing the concerns that the teachers raised. I heard the Minister himself at a public function make reference to Dr Nkansah and laughed about it and teased the teacher unions that said that he was not a teacher.

“How does a leader behave like that when you are faced with a decision that is opposed by your key stakeholders? That is how the Minister himself reacted to the concerns initially.”

The unions that are striking due to the appointment of a banker as the Director General of the GES asked their members to continue staying at home because their meeting with the government ended on day one on Monday November 7 without a decision taken.

The meeting was adjourned to today Tuesday November 8.

President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Rev Isaac Owusu told TV3’s Daniel Opoku in an interview after the first day of the meeting on Monday November 7 that “I can tell you on authority that so far so good we have had a very constructive meeting. The parties have agreed to adjourn and resume tomorrow 2PM to continue with the deliberations.

“We have not ended the meeting, the agreement here is that the two parties have agreed that we should adjourn and resume tomorrow 2PM.”

He added “The teachers should remain calm and continue to stay at home.”

Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko Brobbey also said “We have had another constructive meeting. We have to do further consultation, tomorrow God willing, we will bring this matter to a successful end.”

GNAT, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) have declared strike over the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah as the new Director General of the Ghana Education (GES).

They declared the industrial action on Friday November 4.