Kwamena Duncan calls on teacher unions to end strike

Former Minister for the Central Region, Kwamena Duncan, has appealed to the striking teachers to resume work.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-G) have embarked on strike to protest the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah as Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

They declared a nationwide strike on November 4, 2022 over the failure of the government to meet the deadline to terminate the appointment of the new Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr. Eric Nkansah.

The Unions say they will call off their strike action when the government addresses their grievances.

Speaking on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Kwamena Duncan scolded the teachers as he stressed that, although they have the right to strike, they cannot abuse such right.

"The constitution is the supreme law of the land. Nobody can sit elsewhere and negotiate the power of the constitution away . . . So, anything that contravenes this constitution must be struck out," he said.

To him, the teachers are "toppling the provisions of this constitution" with their recent action.

Quoting some portions of the constitution to buttress his point which stipulated that the power to appoint lies in the hands of the President and that the public service which includes the Education Service only acts as an advisor to guide the President in his appointment, the former Minister believed there was nothing untoward with the appointment of the new GES Director-General.

He, however, called on the appropriate State institution and the Teacher Unions to ensure they reach an amicable resolution on the matter and prayed for a "closure to this so the students can return to school".