Unemployed graduate teachers call on government for employment
A group of unemployed graduate teachers calling themselves Graduate Teachers Forum are calling on government to offer them employment.
According to the group, their colleague teachers from other Colleges of Education are offered postings right after their service and they should equally be treated same.
In a release by the Group, it states several notices have been served government about their employment status but to no avail.
“We have served several notices to the appropriate quarters, alerting them of our existence but it seems every effort of ours is an otiose. We are aware of our many political leaders have used the divide and rule approach to disintegrate our flanks, thankfully, the averse seclusion is the serendipity of our formidable group with one goal”, the statement indicated.
READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW
THE LIVES OF GRADUATE TEACHERS MATTER!
Having taken time to mobilise to ascertain our membership base, Graduate Teachers Forum (GTF) has again seen it prudent and timely to engage the public through the media. Our hiatus is not as though we are no longer existing but to embark on massive reorganisation. We are glad to inform all and sundry that, our mobilisation has brought to book over 7465 disgruntled unemployed graduate teachers drawn mainly from University for Development Studies (UDS, Wa) University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and University of Cape Coast (UCC) have completed and have served the nation but been purposively denied employment referencing from 2018 to date. Our membership will soon rise as plans are more advanced to visit the various campuses to inform our brothers in level 100 to 400 of the need to join as in this fight which has the propensity to grant them employment. We believe in the words of Martin Luther King Junior that, we better live together as brothers or perish as fools.
We have served several notices to the appropriate quarters, alerting them of our existence but it seems every effort of ours is an otiose. We are aware of our many political leaders have used the divide and rule approach to disintegrate our flanks, thankfully, the averse seclusion is the serendipity of our formidable group with one goal.
Our approach is to use every legitimate tool and means to ensure we have secured employment just like our colleagues in the colleges of education, stop institutions like UDS, UEW and UCC from admitting applicants from senior high school into faculty of education as they are not recognised by Ghana Education Service, hence the total neglect.
How on earth should a student get admitted to read education course for four years, graduate and be treated as a persona non-grata. On several occasions, GES opens recruitment portal for graduates from the various colleges of education as if they are the only institutions mandated or accredited to trained teachers. We have been silent for some time and have realised, it’s time to rise and get the right thing done even at the peril of our lives. Meanwhile, graduates from the colleges of education hitherto, have automatic posting and still enjoys government allowance among other benefits while we are left with only students loan with no surety of employment. Over 74% of our members who have completed took students loan are now chased and harassed with messages, threatening them of publishing their names in the newspapers, in addition, their guarantors are also on them amidst the notification of sending their details to Credit Reference Bureau. Over 80% of continuing students engaged have also confirmed of currently enjoying students loan. How are they expected to pay if all employments are skewed to graduates from colleges of education?
We the members of Graduate Teachers Forum, are sending a message to the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo to do the needful, since appointees are deliberately refusing to do the expected. As well, we equally engage the opposition party, led by the former President His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to openly state his position on the employment status of graduate teachers from the various public universities.
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We have been able to bury our political differences as a group and are moved by the sole aim that, members of Graduate Teachers Forum lives matter, hence any political vindictiveness or poaching will not wash. However, GTF has agreed at their various members to declare support and work in any way possible to assist any political party which has openly declared their willingness to employ us.
To avoid any misrepresentation or razzmatazz from our well known politicians, we hereby state unequivocally and unambiguously clear that employed or posted by governments now, are previous and are those who have completed their study and in seldom cases, GES recruitment portal is opened for all graduates regardless whether or not the applicants are trained teachers or not, but more often than not, general recruitment is streamlined to favor only graduate from colleges of education. The message is simple, The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but reveal to them their own. -Benjamin Disraeli.
Even as we serve this notice, we admonish members to contact their local executives to update their membership status as we continue on education and sensitization on series of actions to be taken starting from the second week of September after our political leaders have failed to address our concerns.
Thank you.
Mr. Dzade Michael
National President
0200896260
Mr. Owusu A. Christian
Vice President
0240263017
Mr. Kumah Solomon
National Organiser
0547740220
About The Author
Teacher is teacher whether trained and Professional. We don’t need angels from heaven to tell us this. So why the discrimination?