Ho, Feb. 8, GNA - Teachers from the Ho Municipal, South-Dayi and Adaklu-Anyigbe districts of the Volta Region have expressed their disapproval of the Ghana National Association of Teachers' (GNAT) flag of red, white and blue because they are the same as the colours of a political party.
They said to adopt the flag in those colours would compromise the non-partisan nature of the association.
The issue came up when the flag, which has the torch in the middle of the red and the abbreviation GNAT written in the white, was shown to them at a forum in Ho attended by the national leadership as part of a week's tour of the region to discuss issues affecting teachers. Mr Gabb Korwutor, Ho Municipal Secretary of GNAT, told the Ghana News Agency that the flag predated the political party being referred to. He said the flag was chosen at a national delegates' conference in 1989 from among several other designs presented for selection following an open bid.
Mr Korwutor said the red in the flag depicted the struggles the Mr Korwutor said sometime ago teachers also protested against the use of National Delegates Congress to describe the national gathering of the association's delegates because its abbreviation was the same as that of one of the political parties.
Mr Joseph Kwaku Adjei, National President of the Association, said "we see constructive criticism as a positive input to re-invigorate the in democracy, accountability and open administration". Mr Adjei appealed to GNAT members to submit memoranda to "reshape the Association especially in the areas of union policies and constitutional reform."
Mr James Agyeman Fokuoh, Deputy-General Secretary in charge of salaries and conditions of service, said information from the Controller and Accountant General indicated that 19,000 teachers received overpayments on their 10 percent salary arrears. He said CAGD would start deducting the excess from their salaries from the end of February.
