We would not compromise on the Single Spine Salary Structure-GNAT

Obuasi, April 1, GNA - The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has vowed not to compromise as far as the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure was concerned.

Mr James Agyemang Forkuo, Deputy General Secretary of GNAT in-charge of Organisation and Labour-related issues, said they were not going to accept the postponement of the implementation of the new salary structure. Addressing the third quadrennial delegates' conference of the Obuasi Municipal branch of GNAT at Obuasi on Tuesday, Mr Forkuo said the previous government postponed its implementation from January 2008 to January 2009 and that processes had been initiated to get it to be work on by the current government. He called on teachers to be vigilant and make their voices heard on the new salary structure, intended to normalize things and bring equity in the salary of public and civil servants. Mr Forkuo drew the attention of teachers to the need to adopt good work ethics and attitudes to raise the standard of education. He appealed to teachers to form groups to discuss how to enforce discipline in schools without using the cane. "As teachers, you can innovatively administer discipline without necessarily resorting to caning".

Mr Kwame Appiah, the First Trustee of GNAT, confirmed the Association's stand on the Single Spine, saying, "its' implementation is not negotiable. We are going to hold them by their word". The Principal of Akrokerri College of Education, Mr J. K. Asare, said the promotion of science and technology, especially ICT, was a big challenge facing the educational reform.

Speaking on the theme "The Role of the Teacher in the New Educational Reform in the Face of Political and Socio-Economic Challenges in the New Educational Reform", Mr Asare said taking the role of a teacher out of the equation of providing infrastructure, materials and financial resources for the implementation of the new educational reform, meant asking for the failure of the system. Mrs Beatrice Boakye-Ansah Prempeh, the Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, indicated that teachers produce good and useful citizens to cater for the country's manpower needs as demanded by the educational reform.