GES to clamp down on age-cheating officials

The Ghana Education Service (GES), will soon enact a policy to regulate the dates of birth of teachers and other categories of staff in the education sector, Acting Director-General of GES, Dr. Jacob Kor has disclosed.

He noted that many employees of GES swore affidavits to change their birth certificates when they realized they were nearing retirement, or asked for extension of time after their retirement.

The Acting Director-General of Education, who disclosed this at a meeting with stakeholders in Education, as part of his maiden familiarization tour of the Central Region, expressed the hope that the new policy, when in force, would clean the sector of pensioners and pave way for young people.

The meeting was attended by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education, as well as Heads of second cycle and basic schools, Managers of Unit Schools, representatives of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and labour unions.

Dr Kor admonished the educationists and other employees of GES to critically take into consideration their retirement, and plan adequately towards it, reminding them of the fact that “the positions they held were not their assets that would be with them forever.”

Dr Kor was worried of recent reports, which suggested that 46 per cent of teachers did not write lesson notes, and urged head teachers to discredit teachers who did not write lesson notes when they were due for promotion.

He also charged Head teachers of basic schools to strictly enforce the rules and regulations of GES, and show a strong sense of leadership in their schools.

Dr Kor disclosed that head teachers, teachers and other staff of GES would soon be made to sign performance contracts, which he believed would help address the falling standards of education.

The Acting Director-General said the performance contract would be used as a yardstick to either promote or demote staff of the service.

He, therefore, urged them to be abreast with the new rules and regulations of GES, to enable them to do what was expected of them.

Mrs. Mary Owusu Achiaw, Central Regional Director of Education, advised teachers to put in much efforts in the discharge of their duties, change their attitude and behaviour towards work.

She also urged District Education Directors to co-exist with the managers of unit schools to promote religious tolerance.