Polytechnic students petition government

Bolgatanga (U/E), Oct. 20, GNA - The Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) in Bolgatanga has appealed to the government to show true commitment to the development of polytechnic education by finding appropriate and lasting solution to the legitimate demands of Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG).

The students said this when they went on a peaceful demonstration in the Bolgatanga Municipality and presented a petition to the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, for the President. The students waved placards that read "Mr President how long can we students wait?", "The long standing neglect, abandonment and marginalization of POTAG must come to a halt" and "Mr President be sensitive to the plight of GNUPS and POTAG."

The petition said the intermittent strike actions of teachers was derailing the promising future of the youth "that certainly, we are sure, will not lead to the Better Ghana Agenda promised to all the citizenry".

"It is unfortunate that since the elevation of Polytechnics education to tertiary level, much attention has not been given to the Polytechnic education".

"As a President who has been in the educational sector for over 25 years, we hope attention would be given to the challenges confronting education in this country", it said. The petition said GNUPS was disappointed in the way Fair Wages and Salaries Commission had contributed to the strikes in all the polytechnics in the country, making them places of unrest in the eyes of the public.

It stated that judging from the setting up of a seven-member committee to look into the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) strike action the students said they believed the President was capable of also looking into and addressing the challenges facing POTAG. 2