We will boycott 2024 elections if you don’t address issues affecting private school sector – Teachers

James Kwame Ackon, Executive Director of the National Council of Private Teachers, has announced that if the government fails to solve the sector’s difficulties, its members will boycott the 2024 general elections.

He revealed that they want the government to introduce a regulation or policy to improve private education and the welfare of their workers.

He lamented that the working conditions of the majority of their members were nothing to write home about.

To this end, they want the government to roll out a regulation that will codify the working conditions of teachers.

Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio (87.5 FM), he said the policies being rolled out by the government have ignored private schools and focused only on public schools.

The situation, he noted, has created high taxes for private school owners, adding that the decision by the government to implement Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) did not factor in private schools.

“The various policies being rolled out by the government do not include private schools. The implementation of STEM does not include private schools. Public schools enjoy a lot of privileges when it comes to school placement. When they implemented the free SHS policy, they ignored private schools.

"We have been ignored in all aspects of every single policy in the education sector. What broke the camel’s back was when COVID-19 hit Ghana and schools were closed. Teachers in private schools were ignored.

"Several of our members lost their jobs. So we have concluded that successive governments have failed us and do not value our contributions in the education sector. Private school owners are struggling. We therefore want leaders to roll out a framework that will enhance the private school sector.”

He also raised concerns over the employment and placement of teachers, which are usually done for only graduates from the various colleges of education, while graduates from universities are ignored.

“We will therefore advise all graduates from our universities who have not been placed as teachers not to waste their time voting. It is not important to vote because they do not value our efforts. That is what we are proposing. We will not participate in the general elections.

"The painful aspect is that we pay GHC 550 for the licensure exams, and when you fail, you would have to pay again to take the exams. How can one progress in a country like Ghana?

"So, we will not vote this year. We will boycott the elections, and until the President engages us, we will not participate. They should employ our members. We have given them until November to address our challenges,” he declared.