Some teachers within the Tamale Education Directorate of the Northern Region who boycotted classes in solidarity with a colleague headmaster have been directed to return to the classroom.
The decision was taken at the end of a consensus meeting on Friday where leadership agreed that all circuits in the directorate return to class in a week’s time, with the exception of schools in the Nyohini Circuit.
Headteacher of the Nyohini JHS block B, Rev. Lawrence Yiripari and two others were last Thursday attacked by some unidentified men.
This forced the teachers to boycott academic activities over claims of insecurity and threats issued to them.
But spokesperson for the Tamale Chapter of the Conference of Heads of Basic Schools, Bismack Kwadwo Amposah, who spoke to Citi News after the consensus meeting pleaded with the teachers to resume work assuring them of police protection going forward.
“We have resolved that all schools within the Tamale Metropolis will resume classes on Monday except schools in the Nyohini Circuit until the perpetrators of the heinous crime are brought to book. We have been assured of police protection in all schools in the Tema Metropolis till such a time when we are all convinced and sure that we are safe to work diligently in our schools”, he said.
Teachers file petition
The headteacher who was assaulted in narrating what happened to him Citi News indicated that, when men entered his house, “They quickly entered, held my smock and started slapping me. They didn’t greet me. I didn’t say anything to provoke them”.
The Conference of Heads of Basic Schools in Tamale petitioned the Metropolitan Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), over the incident.
Spokesperson for the group, Bismarck Kwadjo Ampomah in the petition explained that though the reason for the attack is unknown, they suspect some teachers as being the instigators.
“We realised that it had to do with the mass internal transfer done by the directorate somewhere in November last year. We believe that these teachers are resisting these transfers…As they cannot come out openly to cause such harm, they have influenced the community to come in because the mindset is that the headteacher is causing the transfers.”
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan GES Director, Amatus Tuj-uu, who received the petition, sympathized with the teachers but pleaded with them to return to school as authorities investigate the matter.
“I also set a three-man committee to investigate the matter and report back to me tomorrow or by Wednesday”.
“We will try as much as possible to get to the bottom of the problem and find solutions to it,” Mr. Tuj-uu said.