We’ll demonstrate if ban on corporal punishment is not lifted – Concerned teachers
The Coalition of Concerned Teachers is calling on the Counseling and Guidance Unit of the Ghana Education Service to revise its policy that prevents teachers from punishing students in schools.
According to them the policy since its inception has empowered members of the general public to attack teachers.
Their calls come on the back of the killing of one of their colleague at the Asiakwa Salvation Army Basic School.
The deceased, George Somuah Bosompem, a Religious and Moral Education teacher was murdered by six former students of the school when he threatened to report the teenagers, to the police for encroaching on the school’s land to smoke and also defecate.
Speaking at the one-week observation of their late colleague, the Eastern Regional Secretary for the Coalition of Concerned Teachers vowed to stage a series of demonstration if the corporal punishment ban is not reversed.
“We are disturbed about the recent attacks on teachers across the country, recently we had attacks on teachers in the Volta Region, Ashanti Region, Greater Accra and now the Eastern Region. This particular death which is very gruesome should be an issue of concern to all stakeholders. The coalition has realized that the policies that Madam Ivy Mensah came out with concerning counselling and guidance are not teacher friendly if you say a teacher should be taken on or attacked when a teacher disciplines a child is an example of a policy which is influencing the youth to attack teachers”.
“The youth have taken this opportunity to attack teachers and as a union we want the director to retract the policies and apologize by doing the proper thing coming out with better policies that will help in guiding and training up children. We want this done in the shortest possible time or we will be forced to rise up against the counseling and guidance unit and hit the streets to stage series of demonstration because we want to feel safe and free to carry out our mandate”, he noted.
Give our colleague state burial
The coalition which is also demanding a state burial for the late colleague charged fellow teachers in the country to protect themselves in their line of duty.
” The late George Somuah Bosompem left behind three children and he died in the course of his duty so we want the government to honour him with a state burial and also make available to the family all entitlements which are due to any public servant who falls in the line of duty”.
“We want every teacher to arm him or herself when going to the classrooms and also be careful interms of being intelligent in security wise, If you think you will do something that we make people attack you be reasonable and act fast. Teachers were at first held in high esteem and with respect in communities they are posted to but now the narrative has changed and it is time stakeholders rise up and deal with it”, he added.