A teacher union, All Teachers Alliance Ghana (ATAG) has expressed disappointment at three teacher unions over what it describes as a poorly negotiated deal on behalf of teachers in the acquisition of laptops as part of the “one student, one laptop” initiative.
The unions are the National Association of Teachers (NAGRAT), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), and the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).
According to the union, “the three teacher unions NAGRAT, GNAT and CCT acted in a bad faith and want to use every knee-jerk means to justify the poor negotiation that they entered with K.A technologies and the Ministry of Education”.
Addressing the media, the President of ATAG, Isaac Ofori said it is “strange for teacher unions who claim to have teachers at heart to negotiate for a laptop that has 1.0Ghz speed, 4gig RAM and 250gig HDD which is equivalent to Pentium 1”.
However, in response to comments made by the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa that the laptops are not substandard, Isaac Ofori described it as unfortunate.
According to him, “It is unfortunate because at least we are able to demonstrate to the media about the nature of these laptops. We have shown videos of people who have received the laptops, and they are facing difficulties. We have shown pictures of the content of these laptops, and it tells all. As of now, teachers across the country have narrated bad stories that the laptops are not fit for purpose”.
Already, several unions, including the Innovative Teachers Alliance, have voiced their dissatisfaction with the laptops being distributed by the Ghana Education Service, indicating that the laptops are substandard and are not fit for teaching.
They have also expressed displeasure over the deduction of GH¢509 from the teachers’ professional development allowance for the payment of the government’s one-teacher, one laptop policy.
As a result, the group has decided to embark on a demonstration come Wednesday, December 15, 2021, to express their displeasure over the distribution of what they describe as substandard laptops and to also halt the deductions of GHS 509 from teachers’ professional development allowances.