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Needless confrontation

Needless confrontation

Drama is reported to have been recorded at the Jachie Pramso Senior High School in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, October 1, this year when the Ashanti Regional Director of Education employed the services of police personnel to remove the headmaster of the school from office.

The headmaster, Mr Paul Agyei Boakye, was supposed to have reached the compulsory retirement age of 60  on May 1, this year. He was supposed to have been written to and directed to leave the post on the following day. Despite the formal letter from the Director General of the Ghana Education Service informing him of the date of his compulsory retirement, he stayed on until October 1, five clear months beyond the legally permissible limit, without any counter directive, until his office was locked. Thank God he was not at post that day, otherwise no one can conjecture what might have happened as he and the police sorted out details about his exit.

 

 

Complicated matter

The matter is complicated by the disclosure that Mr Boakye insisted  he was born in 1960 and was thus not due for retirement. What was the date of birth he gave when he first applied for employment? Did he, in the course of employment, swear an affidavit to either confirm or change his date of birth? What is the date of birth given by Mr Boakye on his Social Security and National Insurance Trust registration? Answers to these are crucial in determining how the matter should have been resolved before the drama was enacted at the school.

The spectre that played out before the students was very unnecessary and avoidable, but there are a number of questions that need to be answered. The primary question is whether or not Mr Boakye received any remuneration between May and September; that is to ask if his name was still on the payroll at a time he was presumed to have retired compulsorily from public service. If his name was still on the payroll, who will be held accountable for the unauthorised payments to a public sector employee?

On the other hand, if his name was not on the payroll and he was thus not remunerated, then what was his motivation for refusing to leave the school and his post since he did not employ himself? A related question is: Why did the Ghana Education Service look on for an unauthorised person to manage the affairs of the school for five months (without taking any action) when the regulations provide for the take over of the administration of the school by the regional director until such time that a substantive headmaster is appointed to the school.

 

The Opoku Ware SHS case

Recently, there was a problem about the headmaster of the Opoku Ware Senior High School. While some old students who knew him alleged that he was above the retirement age, he insisted that he had not reached the retirement age. The matter was resolved when the GES asked him to proceed on retirement and hand over the administration of the school. Thereafter, all manner of allegations of impropriety have been made against him.

 

Refusal to retire

Many Ghanaians may recollect an acrimonious development about the age of a former Deputy Inspector General of Police. It was so bad that the IGP at the time was accused of hatred for his deputy, hence the indecent haste with which he wanted him out of the Ghana Police Service. However, records were produced to indicate what the true age of the officer was supposed to be.

There are many Ghanaians who try to remain in office beyond the compulsory retirement age of 60.

There are a few others who add to their years to seek early employment. There are no human situations which do not have positive and negative implications. The important lesson, however, is that no one must be allowed to benefit from a fraud that is deliberately committed to gain unfair advantage at any point of time.

The development at the Jachie Pramso Senior High School demonstrates that something was not done right. Either Mr Boakye should have used the law to state his case or the GES should have ensured that Mr Boakye was taken off the payroll. Five months was more than enough to have resolved the matter peacefully and orderly. It cannot be justified in any way, since it is reprehensible.

The time has come for public services to document the dates of birth of all employees so that the rule of law and due process are not undermined when workers are directed to proceed on retirement.

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