Private schools have suffered immeasurably under coronavirus - GNACOPS

The Executive Secretary of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), Enoch Gyetuah, says over 1,104 teachers have not been paid their monthly salaries for about 3 months now. According to him, all the sectors have been badly impacted by the spread of the Corona Virus however, the private schools have been affected immeasurably.

Mr Gyetuah stated that their salaries are not good enough to cater for their individual needs but their situation has been worsened as they stay at home during this COVID -19 period.

“Over 400,000 teachers employed by the private sector are currently at home and at best, have received salaries for just March and April while at home”, he said in Twi.

He mentioned this in an interview with Captain Smart on Anopa Bofoa on Monday, July 20, 2020.

He said that after a meeting with the Finance Ministry on April 5, 2020, they were directed to apply for the GH¢600 million stimulus package President Akufo -Addo launched to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) impacted negatively by the COVID -19 pandemic.

He was quick to add that one can not go and take a loan from the NBSSI to pay teachers thus, the private schools were expecting that the president would allocate some grants for them since schools were closed indefinitely.

He said that the application is long and the criteria demand some documents and financial background to be accessed which may prove difficult for some teachers to access.

The private sector, made up of over 22,000 registered private schools, contributes some per cent of taxes to support national development, he said.

He, therefore, appealed to the media to speak on their behalf for the necessary assistance they need.