Trainee teachers play cards as their teachers strike

Stranded teacher trainees at the Koforidua-Asokore SDA College of Education have resorted to playing cards and football on campus from morning to evening while others roam in town as the one month old strike by the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) disrupts academic exercise.

Students have been ideal since CETAG strike began October 29,2018 over market premium and research allowance.

Lectures have abandoned students to their fate including newly admitted students who require orientation or change of programs before matriculation.

Starr News visit to SDA College of Education Thursday noted the entire campus is in disarray as some students were packing home in despair.

Bright Boakye Sarkodie Yiadom, President of Students Representative Council, SRC, told Starr News “what we do here is right after dinning those who want to roam about they roam about, those who want to go to town they go those who want to play games they play these are the daily activities going on here. So the strike is really affecting us. For the second years, the Courses for this semester is what we call Methods and it is not easy for you to study on your own".

He appealed to government to resolve the impasse with sense of urgency as its has the tendency of affecting the entire academic calendar where trainees would be the end receiver of the brunt. But for meantime, the SRC President concurs to suggestions to temporarily close down the colleges of Education to allow stranded students leave to their homes.

“It has been a problem here we are just roaming about, we don’t know what to do so it will be better we close down the school for students to go home so that proper negotiation is done to resolve the impasse so that they recall us to resume academic work”.

He added “that is one of my fear looking at the time we have already wasted I don’t know how teachers are going to help students recover everything even if the strike is called off and even when the Strike is called off there should be extension of the semester, for that one too I know it is not possible”

Janet Akuba Nyanzo ,a trainee Student told Starr News there is despondency among students as the strike enters four weeks. She also called for postponement of impending semester exams by University of Cape Coast with fixed date on academic calendar.

"We are not here just to write UCC exams and go we are here to be trained so if they say because of the exams they will not close the semester down and want us to write the exams just like that and go then they are polluting we the teacher trainees because nothing better we will learn and go out to teach."