Pupils of the Ntiri-Buoho District Assembly (D/A), Junior High School (JHS) in the Afigya-Kwabre South District, have expressed worry over the absence of their teachers from school.
The pupils, especially, the final year students, who were preparing to write their Basic Education Certificate Examination, told the Ghana News Agency during a visit to the school on Thursday that, the strike by their teachers was affecting their preparation towards the exams.
Teachers and educational workers at the pre-tertiary levels of education, had laid down their tools to demand a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) from the government in view of the current inflated cost of living in the country.
The teachers, under their organised unions of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana, and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union are demanding 20 per cent additional pay from the government to cushion them against the current economic hardships in the country.
They gave the government a deadline line of June 30, 2022, to pay the COLA but the government was unable to pay, hence the strike action which was begun on Monday July 04, 2022.
The government on Wednesday July 06, held a meeting with the leadership of the unions but that did not yield any fruitful results and the strike action is continuing.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the Ntiri-Buoho community, the primary school was totally closed with no teachers or pupils on sight.
However, there were about 20 pupils playing at the JHS but there was no teacher on sight.
Master Desmond Nti, a JHS three pupil told the GNA that he was afraid the continued strike by their teachers could affect their performance at the BECE.
He said though their teachers told them that they were going on strike from Monday, they (pupils) thought the government would respond to their demands to prevent the strike.
Master Osei Kuffuor, also a JHS three pupil, said they were the ones to suffer from the consequences of the teachers and the government’s action and called for a mutual understanding to ensure that academic work was restored in schools.
Ms Dorina Ahema, another JHS three pupil appealed to the government through the GNA, to listen to the grievances of the teachers to enable return to help them to prepare for their examinations.
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