Education Ministry to amend sections of Pre-Tertiary Education Bill
The Ministry of Education has decided to remove sections of the Pre-Tertiary Education Bill which deal with decentralisation of education at the district level following a request by the teacher unions in the country.
They are from sections 29 to 37, which sought to cede the management of basic education schools, district education units, human resources and head and staff of the district Education units, human resource management of head teachers and staff of basic schools to the district assemblies. The sections also placed the medical examination of schoolchildren, district education oversight teams and school management committees under the district assemblies.
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A letter signed by the Director-General of the Ghana Education service, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa said the removal of the sections was to “ensure that other very important aspects of the bill can then be proceeded with in Parliament to ensure the final passage of the bill into law,” (GES) and addressed to the teacher unions said.
Teacher unions
Teacher Unions on February 14, 2020, called on Parliament to suspend any further deliberations on the Pre-tertiary Education Bill until they had resolved all outstanding issues with the Ministry of Education.
"This notice we serve the Parliament of Ghana. We wish to caution that should our stance be disregarded or ignored, we pre-tertiary education unions would advise ourselves accordingly," they said.
The teacher unions, comprised of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT)-Ghana, as well as the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU).
According to the unions, the Bill was going to disintegrate the teachers front, among other things.
Letter
The Director General’s letter said the ministry had proposed a Pre-tertiary Education Bill which had been a subject of discussions between the unions in the education sector , the Ministry of Education and the GES.
“From the interactions, it is obvious that the main issue of concern of the unions relate to the aspects of the Bill which deal with decentralisation of the education system.
“After a meeting with representatives of the unions in education on Wednesday, May 20, I am directed by the Minister of Education to inform you that the ministry upon reflection has decided to delete the sections which deal with decentralisation of the education services namely; 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37. of the proposed Pre-Tertiary Education Bill,” it said.