CUTART petitions GES and Education Ministry over delayed posting
The Coalition of Unposted Trained and Registered Teachers (CUTART) have petitioned the Education Ministry and the Ghana Education Service on their delayed postings.
Their three paged open petition was addressed to the Ministry, sector Minister Yaw Osei Adutwum and Director General of GES, where the group explained that they are the beneficiaries of the untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education-UTDBE program which was supervised by the National Teaching Council and the University of Cape Coast. But they are yet to be posted many years after successfully completing the program.
It will be recalled that the Ghana Education Service implemented a four-year distance education programme in 2005 known as the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) to equip pupil teachers with the requisite skills across the country as a measure to phase out untrained teachers and replace them with professional teachers to help improve quality education at basic school level.
This reason is that, at the mid-point of the millennium agenda (2000-2015), 40 per cent of Primary school teachers and 24 per cent of Junior High School teachers were untrained in Ghana.
From 2012 to 2016 the program continued and government-sponsored the course in partnership with JICA for the backlog of pupil teachers to upgrade themselves in diploma in basic education to serve in the rural area of the country.
Unfortunately, after years of completion of the program, only 110 beneficiaries were posted in 2018 leaving 800 unposted.
President of the Coalition, Afelete Avulah explained that “the said teachers so issued with Professional Teachers Registered numbers since 2016 only got 110 of their entire membership recruited in 2018 but over 800 members still home. The UTDBE programme which was partly a Government-sponsored course with the support of Jica had two categories of trained teachers. Those who were pupil Teachers before admission into the course and the other, those who were voluntary Teachers as well as Youth Employed”
Mr Afelete Avulah acknowledged the efforts of the Director-General and his Deputy Anthony Boateng for posting part of their members in 2018 but appealed for the posting of the rest of the group members.
“It has really been difficult for members to survive. Passed their licensure exams with National Teaching Council, Teachers Registered numbers and completed National Service. Among other details mentioned in the petition to the Minister and GES, it is the cry of these Teachers to be posted. We are willing to serve in any part of the country where their services are needed most,” the president said.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
