The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities has given the government a one-week ultimatum to employ qualified persons with disabilities who applied in the recent Ghana Education Service (GES) recruitment exercise or face a planned indefinite peaceful protest at key government institutions.
The group has threatened to occupy the Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance, and the headquarters of the Ghana Education Service if authorities fail to provide a satisfactory response to their concerns.
In a statement signed by its Convener, Gilbert Boateng Agyare, the coalition accused the Ministry of Education and the GES of failing to honour the government’s commitment to allocate at least five per cent of public sector employment opportunities to persons with disabilities.
The group said it submitted a verified list of 200 qualified graduates with disabilities for consideration during the latest GES recruitment process, but none of the applicants was selected.
According to the coalition, the decision goes against the government’s affirmative action policy, arguing that the recruitment of about 7,000 teachers should have resulted in at least 350 positions being offered to persons with disabilities under the proposed five per cent quota.
The group described the situation as “systemic discrimination and institutional neglect,” stating that many qualified graduates with disabilities have remained unemployed for several years despite meeting the required qualifications.
The coalition also criticised Parliament for failing to address petitions submitted on the challenges facing unemployed graduates with disabilities. It accused the Speaker’s Office of not taking meaningful action to resolve the issue.
The group further stated that the failure to implement the employment quota violates Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), as well as the country’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The coalition recalled President John Dramani Mahama’s promise during the launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy to introduce a five per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities in public sector recruitment.
It is therefore demanding the immediate issuance of appointment letters to qualified members whose names were submitted to the GES.
