Government shall not pay utility bills for Teacher Trainees – Napo

The hopes of Teacher Trainees to get their utility bills paid by the government have been dashed following a decision by the Ministry of Education to stick to its earlier plans.

The Ministry of Education led by the Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh had resolved not to pay the utility bills of Teacher Trainees following a meeting with the leadership of the Conference of Principals.

In the said meeting, it was agreed that the Feeding Grant and Utility bills should be deducted at source from the Teacher Trainees’ allowances when restored in September 2017.

The said decision was revealed when the Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh during a stakeholders meeting held on April 12, 2017, at the conference room of the Ministry of Education.

The meeting Kasapafmonline.com understands was attended by the Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, his deputy, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, the Director-General of Education and the leadership of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana.

Sources say the Teacher Trainees see the decision of the Ministry of Education as a stab in the back since they had earlier been assured by the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education at a meeting held between the two parties in March, 2017, that government would absorb their utility bills.

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh when contacted over the issue said the government will continue with the practice as done in the past where the government will pay the allowance due the Teacher Trainees and the Principals of the Colleges of Education will deduct their feeding fees and utility bills at source.

“Government can’t give allowance and still pay feeding in utility bills,” he noted.

The website is reliably informed the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana are meeting over the issue and will issue a communiqué to the general public when the said meeting comes to a close later on Sunday, April 30, 2017, in Sunyani.