The University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UG–UTAG)
The University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UG–UTAG) has tabled a request to the management of the institution to compensate them with some remunerations for their “whole year cycle teaching without vacation” in both the first and second semester of the modular system for the 2020/2021 academic year.
Speaking to UniversNews, President of UG–UTAG, Dr. Samuel Nkumban revealed that the Association has started engaging management of the University to see how best to advance the request made.
“We have formally made a request to management and management has put together a committee that is looking at what is feasible and they will make prepositions to the government to consider some form of remuneration for all of this year’s whole circle of teaching without a vacation. So we are hoping that something comes out of that arrangement so that at least some minimal compensation shouldn’t be a bad idea,” he revealed.
Dr. Samuel Nkumban noted that the modular system has been very “hectic” for not only students but for lecturers especially, since they did not take a break, unlike students.
This, he stated, has caused an increase in the stress levels of lecturers.
“I have close to [based on the number of courses I taught in the last cohorts who finished exams barely two weeks ago, I have over 600 scripts to mark. And as soon as they finished we had to engage with the supplementary exams which ended only a couple of days ago and this cohort is back. People have not even started marking, so it is a whole circle of non – stop engagements and the stress levels are quite high not only for us but also for students” he said.
Dr. Samuel Nkumban further called for a review of the policy where lecturers do not go on break in the modular system.
“But in the case of students, those cohorts that is done with exams, they are at least relaxing at home but for the lecturer, it is a continuous process. There is no break, there is no vacation and I think that that has to be reviewed and for us to at least take a break at some point.”