The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana has given government a three-week ultimatum to pay all allowances owed them for the past six months.
In a statement jointly signed by President of the Association Dembie Abdul-Manan and General Secretary Abaidoo Felix, the Association has petitioned the Education Minister and Director General of Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to look into the issue.
The Association also expressed determination to take necessary steps to get government to redeem its pledge made to
trainee teachers prior to the 2016 elections.
Restoration of the allowance has always received commendations by the
public Colleges of Education in Ghana due to the significant relief it affords trainees.
However, it noted that teacher trainees across the 46 Colleges of Education for the past 6 months have not been paid their allowances.
According to the statement, leadership of the Association has on several occasions engaged the Minister of Education, Director
General of GTEC and the CEO for Student Loan
Trust Fund (SLTF) to seek the prompt payment of the Teacher Trainees’ allowance but has not yielded results.
The Association, therefore, expressed worry about the suffering of members due to non-payment of the allowances.
“It is worth stating that most trainees rely on the allowance to settle their school and
examination fees hence the delay in its payment caused some trainees not to sit for the
end of semester examination across various Colleges,” the statement says.
“It is out of this same allowance that the Principals in Colleges of Education
feed trainees from, and the delay in payment of the allowance has subjected them to
constant borrowing.”
These the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana claim are reasons why it issued the 3-week ultimatum to push government to pay members their 6-month allowances.
