Anxiety of teachers grows as GES delays in issuing transfer letters

Teachers waiting for their inter-regional transfer letters from the Ghana Education Service (GES) Headquarters are now stranded since they have not yet received the letters two weeks into the new academic year.

Some affected teachers, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency on condition of anonymity, said they were at a crossroads because they could neither return to their original schools nor report to their destination schools.

However, reacting to the issue, Mr Emmanuel Acheampong, the Eastern Regional Public Relations Officer, GES, advised the teachers to exercise restraints and continuously make follow-ups until their approval letters were issued.

Explaining the GES transfer process, he said a teacher was qualified for an inter-regional transfer if he or she had spent three years at a particular post and had received an assurance letter from the preferred school to which he or she was seeking to be transferred.

Besides, while the transfer window was still open, the teacher should have completed all necessary processes within the required time frame.

“When we had the old calendar, around June/July during the long vacation, that is when all these were done so that by reopening in September, every teacher settles in his/her school,” Mr Acheampong said.

Meanwhile, Mr Peter D. Kpakpo-Atsem, the Eastern Regional Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), has also advised the affected teachers to be patient, despite losing contact hours with students.

He noted that inter-regional transfers were expensive and urged GES to act to pave the way for the teachers involved to resume work as soon as possible.

Mr Kpakpo-Atsem said the complete process required that "the GES headquarters had to prepare transfer grants and TNT (transport expenses) for the teacher who is moving from one region to another."

It also seeks clearance from the Ministry of Finance before the transfer can be approved.

GNA’s investigation shows that in the hope of receiving their letters, some teachers had gone ahead to rent apartments and secured school admissions for their children.