The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has condemned the interdiction of the headmistress of the West Africa Senior High School (WASS) for the unauthorised collection of money from students.
GNAT in a statement described the Ghana Education Services’ decision to indict the headmistress as sinister and that it is only aimed at hiding its own shortcomings and blaming same on innocent and vulnerable teachers.
“Once again, the Ghana Education Service, GES, has gone into overdrive, and is at its usual sinister best, seeking to cover its own shortcomings of not addressing the numerous challenges facing the smooth running of the public basic and secondary schools. This behaviour is bringing the personalities of school heads and teachers, and their skills and competencies into question, disrepute, and opprobrium. The GES must put its own house in order internally, before going to town every now and then with school heads who have become pawns in its blame game.”
GNAT in its statement also referenced the interdiction of the head of Fijai SHS which it said the accusation of extortion happened to be false.
“The other day, the Head of Fijai school was at the receiving end, only for the PTA to come out to absolve her/him of any wrongdoing or malfeasance; but then the harm had already been done. How would she/he hold herself/himself in society and before her/his students, family, church, mosque, and the larger society henceforth? And now Dr (Mrs) Shine Agatha Ofori? Would these persons be restituted in the end, if found to have committed no wrong? We await an answer from the GES and all who matter.”
GNAT explained that some heads often pre-financed the running of their schools due to government delays and later get reimbursed but as the government and the GES have taken delight in indicting its members, it advised all “school heads, teachers, and our members, not to pre-finance the running of the schools from their own resources, going forward, since doing so would be misinterpreted, and awarded with shame, suspension, and interdiction, as has happened to Dr (Mrs) Shine Agatha Ofori and her colleagues.”
Below is GNAT’s full statement.
