The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Builsa North Municipality, in the Upper East region, has urged its members to remain steadfast and not allow any threats to return to class in the ongoing ongoing strike.
“I urge everyone not to fall into any kind of threat. They should stay strong, not go to school, ”Mr Benedict Akpem, Builsa GNAT Regional Secretary in an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sandema.
Four teacher unions; IGNAT, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and the Teachers Educational Workers Union (TEWU) have launched a nationwide strike.
This action is intended to compel the Government to comply with their request for a 20 per cent Cost-of-Living Allowance (CoLA) payment.
Mr Akpem said that while the teachers' unions applauded the negative impact their action had brought on students and students across the country, especially in the Builsa world, “our working environment is also important.
“We are experiencing difficulties, and in addition, we urge the Government to provide us with CoLA. Until then, we will not return to classes, ”said GNAT Regional Secretary.
He emphasized that the decision was not a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry.
"There is no school, stay home and fight for the leadership to fight for the Government to listen to our proclamation," he told teachers.
Prior to the discussion with the District Secretary, GNA visited other public schools in Builsa North Municipality to assess the impact of the strike and noted that the classrooms of the schools visited were empty as there were few students playing on the premises.
At Preparatory Junior High School (JHS) for example, some students were seen drawing on their classrooms, some sitting in groups outside the classroom chatting to each other while others were playing ‘ampe’ and soccer around.
Master Solomon Awaatey, a final year student at the school, urged the government to comply with the demands of their teachers to return to school and help them prepare for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) scheduled for October this year.
While GNA was visiting the Azantilow Senior High Technical School (SHTS), final year students had just finished writing their comedy paper on Integrated Science and other teachers who were to supervise them.
Some students, who spoke to GNA, also called on the government to listen to the demands of the teachers' unions.
“Our final year students write their mock exams; we study alone.
"There are no teachers to teach us, they are on strike," said Ruffina Aboalik, a second-year student at the school.
GNA, as part of monitoring the impact of the strike on the Municipality, spotted some Sandema JHS students at 10.45hours who had the opportunity to fish in a dam along the road leading to Sandema township.
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