Education Directorate to be ejected

Tema, Oct. 10, GNA - Members of Tema Chapter of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) have appealed to stakeholders in education to solve the accommodation problem facing Tema Metropolitan Education Directorate.

They noted that immediate actions must be taken by well meaning Ghanaians especially Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to pressurise Tema Development Corporation (TDC) to postpone ejection of the Directorate. Mr George Asare Yamoah, President of Tema Chapter of GNAT, told Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Friday at Tema that education officers currently worked under poor conditions.

He said water supply to the offices had been disconnected, and TDC had threatened to disconnect electricity supply to the directorate in addition to barricading the premises.

Mr Yamoah expressed concern about the welfare of members working at the directorate as the education office annex had already been pulled down, a sign that TDC would eventually demolish the building. He appealed to the management of TDC to exercise restraint as TMA made frantic efforts to mobilise funds to build an education office on a land acquired for the directorate at Community Two.

Mr Yamoah questioned the fate of teachers and students in the metropolis when TDC ejected education officers from the premises adding "the office is the life wire of education in the metropolis." He noted that it was unfortunate that TDC was undermining the implementation of government's educational policies that were geared toward improving the quality of national human resource. "Instead of helping to promote government policies, TDC which is a government entity is placing value on money instead of education," he said.

The TDC in a letter requested 11 government establishments operating from its premises to vacate by May 31, this year. The establishments included Ghana Education Service, New Times Corporation, Rent Control, Land Title Registry, Judicial Service, and Survey Department.

The rest are Department of Social Welfare, Department of Co-operatives, Statistical Service Department, Department of Culture and Community Development.

Several petitions written by the establishments to stakeholders to intervene for the postponement of the exercise have not yielded any meaningful results.

Five months after expiration of the ejection order, some establishments including the Department of Social Welfare and Education Directorate are still struggling to get a suitable alternative accommodation.