Address issues affecting non-teaching staff - Government told

The Women’s Committee of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has urged the government to take immediate steps to address issues affecting members of the union following the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy.

Ms. Johanna Hammond, President of TEWU Women’s Committee, who made the call, said issues such as increased workload, backlog of promotions as well as lack of effective support systems for non-teaching staff in the educational sector needed to be addressed immediately.

Again, delays in recruiting additional non-teaching staff, implementation of second tier pensions and utility challenges in the public schools needed to be taken into consideration.

She was speaking at the opening of the seventh quadrennial delegates’ conference of the Women’s Committee in Kumasi.

The conference was held on the theme, “60 years of TEWU’s contribution to the development of equitable, inclusive and quality education delivery in Ghana – the role of women”.

Ms. Hammond said government’s focus in the implementation of the free SHS policy had been on teachers and staff motivation, accessibility and infrastructural development to ensure quality teaching and learning in schools.

“Unfortunately, government has forgotten about the important and indispensable role of the non-teaching staff, more especially, the role women play,” she stated.

Ms. Hammond pointed out that it was undisputable fact that the services of all categories of workers in the education sector were required to achieve quality education delivery in the country.

It was therefore important for the government to acknowledge and place premium on the integral role non-teaching staff played in order to achieve equitable, inclusive and quality education delivery to sustain the gains made in the sector.

She reminded members to exhibit professionalism in the discharge of their duties at all times.

Dr. Reenie Morhe, Senior Lecturer and Head of Private Law, KNUST, urged the women to always present the female perspective and advocate for change.

She said it was important for female workers in the educational sector to let their voices to be heard in the design and implementation of educational infrastructure to ensure that women’s needs were taken into consideration.