CETAG, CENTSAG strike hits students of Atebubu College of Education

Correspondence from Bono East

A nationwide strike by members of the Colleges of Education Tutors Association of Ghana and the Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Association of Ghana (CENTSAG) has brought teaching and learning as well as other related services in all 46 Colleges of Education across the country to a halt.

The strike action among other things is over issues affecting the welfare of members, non-finalization of Conditions of Service (CoS) negotiations, and the unilateral determination of April 2023 by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) as the effective date for placing First Degree Holders of CENTSAG on 17H on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).

The situation has become a worry for students of the Atebubu College of Education (ATECOE) who have started feeling the brunt of the indefinite strike action declared by the two bodies.

A visit to the college by GhanaWeb’s Aboagye Addo Frank at 9:00 am on Wednesday 16, 2022, showed empty classrooms except for a few students who were spotted studying in groups or individually.

Another department that had no activity ongoing at the time of the visit was the school’s kitchen which was under lock and key with no cooking going on.

According to the students, just three days into the strike action, it is already having a negative impact on them academically, psychologically, and financially.

The General Secretary of the Students Representative Council (SRC), Mohammed Awal, decried the direct impact of the strike action on the students.

He disclosed that, unlike previous strike actions, they have felt the full force of the current strike because every service including feeding has been suspended forcing students to feed themselves in these difficult economic conditions draining their already scarce resources.

“We are feeling the impact of the strike action because all the services have been withdrawn by the striking bodies. This time around, the kitchen staff have also joined the strike so we are forced to feed ourselves which has made life difficult for us under the current economic conditions.”

He urged the government to call the striking bodies to the negotiating table to find a lasting solution to the impasse.

“We are appealing to the government to meet the striking workers so that the issue will be addressed for them to resume work.”

A Level 200 student, Miss Gyamea Priscilla Yeboah, sounded very worried as the continued absence of the tutors will have dire consequences on the impending semester examination, and wants the tutors to be compassionate and return to the classroom.

“The tutors are on strike which is a worry for us because we have our impending semester examination on 28th November so we are appealing to them to consider us and the government too should listen to their concerns.”

But the Local Chairman for CETAG, ATECOE, Mr Adu Tuffour David, commenting on calls for the suspension of the strike indicated that although they share in the frustrations of the students, the strike action is long overdue and justified owing to the government’s lack of commitment to their concerns.

“We share in their frustrations because every student will want tutors to be around to be teaching them but they should also put themselves in our shoes. We have been cheated for far too long hence the strike action and by that, we have suspended every service from teaching to the supervision of project work. Even those in the kitchen are not even cooking so if I say every service it means every service.”

He urged the students to rather channel their concerns through the Teacher Trainees' Association of Ghana (TTAG) to the government to address their concerns and they will call off the strike action.

“We are ready to call off the strike action but we will do so if only our concerns are addressed so they should through their leadership, that is, TTAG channels their concerns to the government for an amicable solution.”