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In the last three years, I have followed with keen interest the progressive engagements of the National Teaching Council with Ghana Education Service, functional Teacher Unions, and relevant stakeholders, all geared toward Teacher professionalism and Capacity Development. In recent times, I have also followed discussions on issues regarding Teacher Capacity building for the Improvement of Learning Outcomes and Proper Teacher Accountability Framework. These discussions resonate with global standards and benchmarks where Teacher Capacity Building through standards and professional frameworks are discussed, especially, at African Union and UNESCO levels. It is not for nothing that the African Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities and the International Forum for Teacher Regulatory Authorities are established to support the professionalism of teaching. In an attempt for Ghana to join the global campaign of championing the standards for teacher development and teaching beyond borders, Ghana has since 2008, consistently been developing policies to support and elevate the status of teachers in the country. It's rather unfortunate that people who have not been following the global and local trends of teacher education and development are throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians, particularly, teachers. These are charlatans who think they can take advantage of the current dispensation to coax teachers to follow them so they can extort their money in the name of new Teacher Unionism... The question I ask is; What else can any other union do apart from the mighty things that GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT have been doing? Even, where they have to combine forces and fight for teacher welfare, they do. These have been evidenced in negotiations for continuous professional development allowance and the implementation of the Pre-tertiary Teacher Professional Development Management (PTPDM) policy. Any genuine follower of Teacher Education and the trajectory of teacher reforms including licensing and registration, continuing professional development (CPD), and the overall teacher regulation and professionalism reforms within the last decade will not only be more armed with knowledge on the significance of the regulatory regime but will appreciate the international dimension of teacher professionalism and will be properly competent to assess the great strides made by Ghana. As a teacher policy analyst, it hurts reading the attempts by some uninformed and self-acclaimed leaders of Teacher Unions at bastardizing the CPD initiative. I am, however, consoled that the recognized teacher unions; GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT have frequently been engaging the National Teaching Council and GES on the CPD framework. They may still have issues with the implementation process but they are handling it maturely. Those hollow rants only go to project the paucity of their knowledge on CPD issues and the legal regime. It also showcases that they are clearly out of touch with the CPD ecosystem empowered by clause 60(k) of ACT 1023. The section mandates NTC "to develop and promote continuing professional education in the teaching profession". Anyone who cannot make meaning from this clause clearly has no business issuing fallacious statements to court disaffection for GES (as an implementation agent), NTC (as a regulator), and the functional teacher unions (CPD providers). It smacks of intellectual dishonesty for one to parade sentiments without tongue-tied knowledge. Such needless conjectures and nebulous innuendos should be taken with a pinch of salt and the proponents are called to order as it seeks to undermine existing legislation and the authority of all agencies who have contributed to the developments and restructuring of the CPD framework for teachers... From the CPD framework, it's easy to conclude that, 1. The total CPD points teachers are expected to accrue each year for a period of three years is based on the rank and grade of the teacher. The total CPD points differ across all ranks and this explains why teachers on the rank of Snr Sup II and Assistant director II are expected to accrue 70 points and 85 points respectively. 2. A teacher can access training from the employer (GES) either at the school level through Professional Learning Communities-PLC (School Based, Departmental Based, or Cluster Based), etc and this training which comes with no charges also generate CPD points for teachers. For a so-called Union Leader (A general sectary of Teacher Unions of Ghana) to be oblivious to this basic information tells more about the kind of leaders championing these vacuous agendas. The CPD framework is online and readily available on the NTC teacher portal yet the so-called leaders have failed to read it. A lot of the NTC-approved CPD service providers have been taking teachers through the framework. They should swallow their pride and avail themselves for such training; the CPD allowance is not meant for ‘chilling’, with all due respect. In any case, is there any registered union known as the Teacher Unions of Ghana? If they are seeking attention to form their union, they should desist from riding on the back of this important national conversation. Do they have a constitution and what have they contributed to policy dialogues in the last decades? Where were they when the functional unions took charge and negotiated Continuous Professional Development Allowance for teachers? Who did they consult before espousing these baseless analogies? If they claim to represent teachers then they should let us know how many teachers they consulted before coming out with this release. It is really absurd when people sit in their rooms, craft statements, and push them through social media claiming to be the position of teachers. Come on! Teachers are smarter than that. If one wants to set up a union to represent teachers, one must learn the rudiments of unionism. Leaders of GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT go through years of training to reach that pinnacle. If they are a union worth its salt, then the best thing to do in circumstances like this is to first engage your employer and subsequently the regulator. The good and competent unions have been engaging the appropriate authorities and that is what this guy and his ilks should learn. The outbursts by these faceless Teacher Unions of Ghana translate to gross misconduct and ethical breach. It casts a slur on gains made so far and goes to muddy the integrity of all relevant stakeholders who have been part of the CPD initiatives from scratch. The trend of people undermining laws and authority by becoming transmitters of half-baked statements should be put to a halt and I call on all the relevant stakeholders, National Teaching Council, Ghana Education Service, GES council, recognized teacher Unions, etc to sanitize the system of such unwholesome reportage which seeks to trivialize such important discourses. All such person(s) hiding under the mercies of social media to peddle untruths for clout should be called to order. The Ghana Education Service should fish for that entity that refers to the leaders of GES at the headquarters as "timid". The NTC should call this gentleman who refers to CPD points as "crazy points". I also urge the teacher unions to counsel such individuals to learn how to behave in their utterances since they are hiding behind the spirit of teacher unionism to publicize their selfish intentions. Teachers are encouraged to be discerning so they don’t fall prey to the traps of such greedy and uninformed individuals who behave so unprofessionally. I am confident that recognised teacher unions will work with educational authorities to uplift the image of teachers in Ghana while exposing the power drunks. Never again shall we be deceived by charlatans like the so-called general secretary for the teacher unions of Ghana who exploit situations like this to advance their eccentric idiosyncrasies and aggrandisements.
In the last three years, I have followed with keen interest the progressive engagements of the National Teaching Council with Ghana Education Service, functional Teacher Unions, and relevant stakeholders, all geared toward Teacher professionalism and Capacity Development. In recent times, I have also followed discussions on issues regarding Teacher Capacity building for the Improvement of Learning Outcomes and Proper Teacher Accountability Framework. These discussions resonate with global standards and benchmarks where Teacher Capacity Building through standards and professional frameworks are discussed, especially, at African Union and UNESCO levels. It is not for nothing that the African Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities and the International Forum for Teacher Regulatory Authorities are established to support the professionalism of teaching. In an attempt for Ghana to join the global campaign of championing the standards for teacher development and teaching beyond borders, Ghana has since 2008, consistently been developing policies to support and elevate the status of teachers in the country. It's rather unfortunate that people who have not been following the global and local trends of teacher education and development are throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians, particularly, teachers. These are charlatans who think they can take advantage of the current dispensation to coax teachers to follow them so they can extort their money in the name of new Teacher Unionism... The question I ask is; What else can any other union do apart from the mighty things that GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT have been doing? Even, where they have to combine forces and fight for teacher welfare, they do. These have been evidenced in negotiations for continuous professional development allowance and the implementation of the Pre-tertiary Teacher Professional Development Management (PTPDM) policy. Any genuine follower of Teacher Education and the trajectory of teacher reforms including licensing and registration, continuing professional development (CPD), and the overall teacher regulation and professionalism reforms within the last decade will not only be more armed with knowledge on the significance of the regulatory regime but will appreciate the international dimension of teacher professionalism and will be properly competent to assess the great strides made by Ghana. As a teacher policy analyst, it hurts reading the attempts by some uninformed and self-acclaimed leaders of Teacher Unions at bastardizing the CPD initiative. I am, however, consoled that the recognized teacher unions; GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT have frequently been engaging the National Teaching Council and GES on the CPD framework. They may still have issues with the implementation process but they are handling it maturely. Those hollow rants only go to project the paucity of their knowledge on CPD issues and the legal regime. It also showcases that they are clearly out of touch with the CPD ecosystem empowered by clause 60(k) of ACT 1023. The section mandates NTC "to develop and promote continuing professional education in the teaching profession". Anyone who cannot make meaning from this clause clearly has no business issuing fallacious statements to court disaffection for GES (as an implementation agent), NTC (as a regulator), and the functional teacher unions (CPD providers). It smacks of intellectual dishonesty for one to parade sentiments without tongue-tied knowledge. Such needless conjectures and nebulous innuendos should be taken with a pinch of salt and the proponents are called to order as it seeks to undermine existing legislation and the authority of all agencies who have contributed to the developments and restructuring of the CPD framework for teachers... From the CPD framework, it's easy to conclude that, 1. The total CPD points teachers are expected to accrue each year for a period of three years is based on the rank and grade of the teacher. The total CPD points differ across all ranks and this explains why teachers on the rank of Snr Sup II and Assistant director II are expected to accrue 70 points and 85 points respectively. 2. A teacher can access training from the employer (GES) either at the school level through Professional Learning Communities-PLC (School Based, Departmental Based, or Cluster Based), etc and this training which comes with no charges also generate CPD points for teachers. For a so-called Union Leader (A general sectary of Teacher Unions of Ghana) to be oblivious to this basic information tells more about the kind of leaders championing these vacuous agendas. The CPD framework is online and readily available on the NTC teacher portal yet the so-called leaders have failed to read it. A lot of the NTC-approved CPD service providers have been taking teachers through the framework. They should swallow their pride and avail themselves for such training; the CPD allowance is not meant for ‘chilling’, with all due respect. In any case, is there any registered union known as the Teacher Unions of Ghana? If they are seeking attention to form their union, they should desist from riding on the back of this important national conversation. Do they have a constitution and what have they contributed to policy dialogues in the last decades? Where were they when the functional unions took charge and negotiated Continuous Professional Development Allowance for teachers? Who did they consult before espousing these baseless analogies? If they claim to represent teachers then they should let us know how many teachers they consulted before coming out with this release. It is really absurd when people sit in their rooms, craft statements, and push them through social media claiming to be the position of teachers. Come on! Teachers are smarter than that. If one wants to set up a union to represent teachers, one must learn the rudiments of unionism. Leaders of GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT go through years of training to reach that pinnacle. If they are a union worth its salt, then the best thing to do in circumstances like this is to first engage your employer and subsequently the regulator. The good and competent unions have been engaging the appropriate authorities and that is what this guy and his ilks should learn. The outbursts by these faceless Teacher Unions of Ghana translate to gross misconduct and ethical breach. It casts a slur on gains made so far and goes to muddy the integrity of all relevant stakeholders who have been part of the CPD initiatives from scratch. The trend of people undermining laws and authority by becoming transmitters of half-baked statements should be put to a halt and I call on all the relevant stakeholders, National Teaching Council, Ghana Education Service, GES council, recognized teacher Unions, etc to sanitize the system of such unwholesome reportage which seeks to trivialize such important discourses. All such person(s) hiding under the mercies of social media to peddle untruths for clout should be called to order. The Ghana Education Service should fish for that entity that refers to the leaders of GES at the headquarters as "timid". The NTC should call this gentleman who refers to CPD points as "crazy points". I also urge the teacher unions to counsel such individuals to learn how to behave in their utterances since they are hiding behind the spirit of teacher unionism to publicize their selfish intentions. Teachers are encouraged to be discerning so they don’t fall prey to the traps of such greedy and uninformed individuals who behave so unprofessionally. I am confident that recognised teacher unions will work with educational authorities to uplift the image of teachers in Ghana while exposing the power drunks. Never again shall we be deceived by charlatans like the so-called general secretary for the teacher unions of Ghana who exploit situations like this to advance their eccentric idiosyncrasies and aggrandisements.
