Teachers fume at government over ‘paltry’ allowance for curriculum training
Public sector teachers who are currently undergoing training on the new curriculum to be used in the next academic year are to be paid Ghc 140 each, information from the Education Ministry has revealed.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA) recently launched the new curriculum which would be used in Ghanaian schools in the 2019/2020 academic year.
Per the introduction, Circuit supervisors, head teachers and teachers in public basic schools are currently undergoing training across the country on the new curriculum for Kindergarten 1 to Primary 6.
Concerns have been raised by a section of the teachers concerning the quality of food being given to them as well as allowance to be paid hence generating some level of apprehension among them.
The Ghana Report has intercepted a document approved by the Minister for Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh titled: “Details of funding for the training of teachers on the new curriculum” which highlights the details of allowance meant to be paid to the participating teachers.
According to the Education Minister, the government will spend Ghc 140 on each teacher during the workshop which would last for five days.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh said, “We are not giving breakfast since it’s non-residential. We are giving snack and a meal (lunch) and water at Ghc8 per participant per day for the 5 days. Then we give each participant Ghc50 for transportation and Ghc50 as allowance after the programme.”
The various District Directors of Education, the Minister observed, have been asked to arrange with Senior High School Matrons to provide one lunch meal as well as snacks everyday within the 5-day training period.
“We asked the District Directors to arrange with the SHS matrons to provide them one meal and snack. We expected the matrons could provide the snack and a meal and a bottle of water at Ghc8 given that they could give students 3 meals at Gh5.20,” Dr. Opoku Prempeh said.
The minister further disclosed that the government has provided money to the various districts for overhead costs such as transporting the food to the workshop venues.
“We also provided money to each district for overheads such as transporting the food. Headquarters and Regional teams are monitoring. We’ll be glad for specific Districts where there are challenges so we move in as soon as possible,” he stated.
Some public sector teachers in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions who are currently attending the workshops to be equipped with the requisite knowledge to teach next academic year have expressed their anger with the manner they are being treated at the programme.
According to them, the food the GES, through the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directorates of Education are feeding them with are of poor quality, a situation which has compelled a number of teachers to reject the food, The Ghana Report gathers.
The teachers say they are unable to grasp the concepts as contained in the new curriculum as introduced by the government on ’empty stomachs’.