NAGRAT Clears Air On Free SHS

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has officially diffused assertions that it has endorsed the free education policy being touted by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In a press statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Christian Addai-Poku, president of the graduate teachers’ umbrella body, he said NAGRAT would prefer to remain neutral on the flagship policy of the NPP that had attracted intense public discourse.

“Neither NAGRAT nor its assigns have overtly or covertly endorsed or discounted the feasibility or otherwise of the free SHS issue,” explained Mr. Addai-Poku, adding that “NAGRAT will prefer to stay clear of this matter at this stage and will rather make its position known after the 2012 elections.”

Incidentally, NAGRAT and other educational umbrella bodies have simultaneously refused to yield to persuasions from politicians to comment on the educational policy of the NPP

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has particularly tried to pin NAGRAT and its sister associations down to declare their stand on the educational policy. Recently, Executive Secretary of the Free Zones Board Kojo Twum-Boafo tried to convince educational and religious bodies to take a stand on the free SHS policy.

“Currently, NAGRAT has no position on the feasibility or otherwise of the free SHS issue. We will leave it to the judgment of the discerning electorates,” emphasized NAGRAT in its press release.

Indeed, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Conference of Heads of Assistants Secondary Schools (CHASS) have all refused to be coaxed into making comments about the NPP policy for fear of being tagged with a political label.

“Much as NAGRAT acknowledges that as a major stakeholder Ghanaians would have loved to know our position on this issue to make an informed decision, NAGRAT is unable to do so now as the issue is politicized even among our membership, based on which party they belong,” it explained.

According to NAGRAT, it had no interest in the free education policy because it was still a campaign promise. The association said it would only begin to take the policy seriously when it could ascertain the NPP’s commitment to implement the policy beyond all reasonable doubt.

“The free SHS is currently a campaign promise but not yet an educational policy and therefore has very little attention of the association in the current state of affairs,” said the association.

“As a teacher union, we will hold politicians accountable for juicy promises made to us and upon which they win the mandate of the people but will resist any bad policies that will compromise quality assurance in education”.