Birim South GNAT supports NAGRAT

Akim Oda (E/R), June 3, GNA - The Birim South District branch of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has pledged its support for the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in their "fight for a just course".

The branch has, therefore, called on the national leadership of This was contained in a resolution adopted by the branch at the end of their second Quadrennial Delegates' Conference held at Akim Oda on Thursday. It was under the theme: "The new education reform, teachers' motivation", and attended by 80 delegates.

The resolution, signed by the District GNAT Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Agyei-Kportey, called on the government to consider paying teachers extra-duty allowances as being done to nurses and doctors because the teacher also works continuously after official class hours.

The resolution asked the Ministry of Education and Sports to implement the recommendations of the Ghana Education Service Council on the new condition of service for teachers without delay.

Mr Agyei-Kportey announced that teachers in the district had established financial schemes, including a District Credit Union, which had a working capital of more than 800 million cedis.

Professor James Opare, Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Cape Coast, observed that for the new education reform to succeed, there was the need to motivate teachers by giving them good incentive packages.

He said teachers were saddled with many duties such as continuous assessment, marking of scripts at their private time for which they must be remunerated.

Prof. Opare was not happy about threats being issued to striking members of the NAGRAT, saying, "when teachers make modest requests, society must listen to them as threats do not move people."