Educational units urged to abide by GES directive on transfer, posting of teachers
The Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mr Kofi Sarfo Kantanka, has appealed to educational units to abide by the directive to mission schools to stop transferring teachers, posting and recruiting new teachers through the various educational units.
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He said that was necessary to bring peace and harmony in the education sector.
In reaction to the directive, issued by the Ghana Education Service, the Emeritus Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Kumasi, Most Rev. Kwasi Sarpong said that the Ashanti Regional and the Kumasi Metropolitan directors of education were adopting strategies to collapse Catholic schools in the region.
Accusation
He accused them of transferring Catholic teachers, headmasters and staff of the Catholic Education Unit, and replacing them with people who were not advocates of the Catholic faith.
He said these were part of the strategies being adopted by the two directors to “collapse Catholic schools in the region”, and, therefore, called on the government to bring the two officers to order.
Speaking as the Special Guest at the Kumasi Province of the Association of Catholic Teachers’ (ACT) 5th annual conference at the Saint Paul Catholic Church at Amakom in Kumasi, Most Rev. Sarpong said the Catholic Church, with its interest in the development of the nation, would not look on unconcerned for its educational system to collapse “due to the interest or the hidden agenda of some persons against the national interest”.
The conference, held on the theme, “Catholic Education and National Development”, brought together over 260 Catholic teachers from Konongo-Mampong, Obuasi, Goaso, Techiman and Kumasi Dioceses. Also in attendance were some retired headmasters of Catholic schools and directors of Catholic Education at institutions.
Reacting to the comments by Most Rev. Sarpong, Mr Kantanka emphasised that a directive from the GES directorate asked regional directors to take over all postings, transfers and recruitment of new staff, in consultation with the various heads of education units.
Resistance
According to him, ever since the Regional Directorate of Education started implementing the directive by the GES directorate, he had met the heads of the Education Unit to discuss the new directive and how to ensure a successful implementation.
This, he said, had not gone down well with some of the units, which continued to do transfers and postings in sharp contrast with the directive from the GES directorate.
He, therefore, urged all stakeholders in education, who had challenges related to education, to use the appropriate channels to find solutions to their grievances.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Director of Education, Madam Getrude Mensah, said “I have nothing against Catholic Education since I am also a beneficiary of Catholic education.”
She called for continued collaboration with all the units and stakeholders of education in the region to bring peace and development into the education sector.
Earlier at the conference, the Kumasi Provincial President of ACT, Mr Eric Kyei, appealed to the Catholic Bishops Conference to meet the government to help resolve the issue of the government trying to take over the management of schools from the missions since the government alone could not manage educational institutions in the country.