The National Council of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, having convened at the GNAT Village, Abankro near Ejisu, Ashanti Region, between 6th and 14th November, 2021, and having deliberated on all the issues tabled before it exhaustively, hereby issues this Communique:
That:
1. The National Council endorses Leadership of the Association’s opposition to the National Teaching Council arrogating to itself the Continuous Professional Development of Teachers, which is the onus of the employer, and going forward to entrust the said Continuous Development of Teachers to its private service providers which claim to be experts in Teacher Education, Continuous Professional Development and Education Research, and compelling teachers to attend their fee-paying Continuous Professional Development programmes.
The National Council endorses again, leadership of the Association’s call on the National Teaching Council to stay within its mandate as an advising body to the Minister of Education on matters relating to the Professional standing, licensing of teachers, and coordinating and harmonizing the effective and efficient delivery of basic and senior high education in the country. In this vein, Council calls on the National Teaching Council and the District Directors of Education to cease compelling teachers to attend the fee-paying Continuous Professional Development Programmes being run by its assigns, forthwith.
2. The National Council calls on the National Labour Commission to prevail on the Employer and all who matter, to address the issues bordering on the Collective Agreement, and the Conditions of Service of Teachers, which in effect affect their performance and well-being, as highlighted by the Unions, in their press statement of 10th August, 2021, as placed before the Commission by National Security, addressed expeditiously, to avert any ripples on the education front.
3. The National Council calls on the GES to take immediate steps to resolve the outstanding issues concerning the promotion of teachers on the junior ranks (Snr Supt. II – Snr Supt. I), especially the 2015 & 2016 year groups, to engender peace and harmony on the education front.
4. The National Council calls on Government to provide decent accommodation for teachers as promised in the 2016 manifesto of the New Patriotic Party, as well as the 2017 government budget. We can no longer wait for the realisation and fulfilment of this promise, which has been outstanding, five (5) solid years down the line. We are therefore, looking forward eagerly to it, soonest, in the collective interest of both the Unions and government.
5. The National Council registers its abhorrence with the unruly behaviour being demonstrated by students in some schools towards school authorities, teachers and themselves (sometimes resulting in needless injury and death) in recent times. Council finds this attitude not only uncouth, but barbaric, and therefore calls on students to demonstrate some modicum of respect, moral certitude, tolerance and decorum towards school authorities, their teachers and themselves; they should learn to co-exist peacefully with one other, and save their teachers, parents and the country in general, from unnecessary consternation, fear, panic, anxiety and insecurity. They should assure society and all, that they are our hope for the future. A policy must be put in place to curb this unruly behaviour of students.
6. The National Council notes with dismay, the failure of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) to remit the Tier-2 contributions of members for the months of July, August, September, October 2021, to the Ghana Education Service Occupational Pension Scheme (GESOPS) in contravention of Section 96(2) and 64 of the Pensions Act, 2008, Act 766, which enjoins the CAGD to remit the Tier-2 contributions within fourteen (14) days from the end of each month, and therefore draws the attention of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to this anomaly of the Ministry of Finance to ensure the prompt payment of member – monthly contributions ( and the associated 3% per centum penalty for the July, August, September, 2021 delayed payments), without further delay.
7. The National Council reiterates that the proper status of teachers should be recognized by government, parents and the general public, and teachers paid the required due regard, since they are critical stakeholders of society, tasked to shape the minds and personalities of the youth for leadership roles in future. In this vein, Council calls for every possible effort to be made to promote close cooperation between teachers and parents in the interest of pupils, thus, teachers should be protected against assault and battery by parents, guardians and the general public, which has become the vogue in recent times.
8. The National Council approves the establishment of the (proposed) GNAT Institute for Research and Industrial Relations Studies (GNAT -IRIRS) at the GNAT Village at Abankro, near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, upon obtaining Authorization and Programme Accreditation, from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the Regulating body, as the Association’s contribution to academia, the Continuous Professional Development of Teachers, Industrial Relations Practitioners, the Unions and Labour, and the broadening of frontiers of Union Education in Ghana, the West African Sub-region, Africa and the world at large.
9. The National Council notes with satisfaction, the Ag. Controller and Accountant General’s withdrawal of his threat, that effective December 1, 2021, workers on the government of Ghana Payroll who had not registered with the National Identification Authority (NIA) will not be paid, per his letter titled Public Notice, Referenced CAGD/PR/01/21/025, dated in October, 2021, following GNAT’s protest over the move, thus ensuring public and industrial peace in the country.
10. The National Council affirms its commitment to the continued existence of a united, cohesive and stable Ghana, thus nothing should be done to rock the ship of state. All we need is social dialogue, as and when necessary, tolerance of one another, industrial harmony and peace. With peace, we are sure, Ghana would go places and continue to be respected, in the comity of nations. Thus, we all should uphold the peace, tranquility and progress in all spheres of the country.
11. The National Council wishes to remind our countrymen and women, and all our compatriots, that Covid-19 is still around and wreaking havoc in its trail, so all should observe the social and health protocols, and be vaccinated, so as to avert unnecessary deaths in the country.
12. The National Council looks forward to its 6th Quadrennial (53rd) National Delegates Conference slated for 2nd – 9th January, 2022 at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, on the theme: GNAT @90: Surviving as a Reliable and Vibrant Teacher Union in the 21st Century.
God bless us all!!
ISSUED AT THE GNAT VILLAGE, ABANKRO,
AND SIGNED BY:
PHILIPPA LARSEN (MS.)
NATIONAL PRESIDENT
DATED: 12TH NOVEMBER, 2021