Allowances of striking Teachers (CETAG) members to be paid in 2 weeks as salaries remain on hold

The government says the allowances for teachers from the various Colleges of Education, who went on strike, will be paid within two weeks.

This follows the refusal of members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) to call off their prolonged industrial action.

Despite a court ruling declaring the strike illegal, the teachers have not returned to work. Consequently, salaries for those who did not work in July have been frozen.

Speaking to JoyNews, the Director for Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, Professor Francis Nunoo stated that teachers have eight days to resume their duties or risk forfeiting their July salaries.

He insists that efforts are being made to settle the outstanding allowances.

“We are fact-checking them and based on the availability of national funds, it will hit their account. All the necessary paper works, everything is being worked on. The payment system has been done. All that is left is for the money to hit people’s accounts and we are looking at the situation of maximum two-weeks for it to hit their accounts”.

Meanwhile, the teachers are expected to meet with government and Parliament in separate meetings to end the impasse.

Professor Francis Nunoo told JoyNews’ Evans Mensah that he is hopeful the meetings will be fruitful.

“We have attendance list of those who are working. Those people will be exempted but those who have not worked all through the period may be affected. But we hope it wouldn’t get to that far. On Wednesday, we are engaging with them. The Minister for Education, Dr Osei Yaw Adutwum has called the various government stakeholders to sit at a table and we hope this will be the last time for us to solve the problem so that we don’t have to freeze their salaries.”

But the National Labour Commission (NLC) says GTEC did no wrong in freezing the salaries of the teachers.

Speaking on JoyNews, Executive Secretary of the Commission, Ofosu Asamoah insisted that the ongoing strike is illegal.

“This is like two elephants fighting and I feel so sad about it. The court has injuncted the strike, yet they are continuing with the strike. With that, it makes the strike illegal because the court says ‘this strike is not right, so stop’.

“When it becomes an illegal strike, the law provides that they should not be paid for the period they engaged in the illegal strike,” he explained.

Striking CETAG members withdraw all services as government withholds salaries

Leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has called on members to withdraw all services following the decision by government to freeze their July salary.

These services, according to a statement sighted by JoyNews, include attendance of meetings and congregation ceremonies, provision of academic counselling as well as supervision of students in their halls of residence.

Read also: Allowances of striking CETAG members to be paid in 2 weeks as salaries remain on hold

CETAG explained that the decision is in response to the Minister of Education’s directive to Principals and the Controller and Accountant General not to validate the July 2024 salaries of teaching staff of the 46 public colleges of education due to their ongoing strike.

“Leadership has referred the illegal directive to freeze our July salaries to our lawyers to take the necessary action on it immediately,” the statement dated July 23 added.

Meanwhile, the National Labour Commission (NLC) has backed the decision by Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to freeze the salaries of the teachers.

Speaking on JoyNews, Executive Secretary of the Commission, Ofosu Asamoah insisted that the ongoing strike is illegal.

“This is like two elephants fighting and I feel so sad about it. The court has injuncted the strike, yet they are continuing with the strike. With that, it makes the strike illegal because the court says ‘this strike is not right, so stop’.

“When it becomes an illegal strike, the law provides that they should not be paid for the period they engaged in the illegal strike,” he explained.

Read also: GTEC directs CAGD to withhold CETAG members’ July salaries

Currently, the strike has affected all 46 public colleges of education nationwide.

According to the leadership of CETAG, the strike is to demand better working conditions and remuneration packages.

CETAG’s demands include the payment of one month’s salary to each member for additional duties performed in 2022, and the application of agreed rates of allowances payable to public universities to deserving CETAG members.

Due to this strike, the academic calendar has been interrupted and students are waiting anxiously for the resumption of classes.

Source; Myjoyonline.com

In utter discontent over failed promises by the government, the National Council of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) staged a walkout on the Deputy Education Minister, Prof Kingsley Nyarko, and their national leadership for reneging on a promise to provide a laptop each to teachers across the country.

The government in 2021 deducted 30% of teachers’ salaries to undertake the “one teacher one laptop” project.

But the teachers claim over 50,000 of their colleagues nationwide have not received their laptops despite paying for them.

Some teachers and members of the National Council of the Ghana National Association of Teachers booed the Deputy Minister for Education, Prof. Kingsley Nyarko, at their annual national council meeting in Kumasi.

They prevented the deputy minister from delivering his speech on behalf of the government as the council prepared to open their week-long annual meeting.

“Away! Away! No laptop no council meeting!,” some council members chanted.

The opening ceremony of the annual national council meeting of the teachers which was consequently disrupted.

The teachers are demanding that the government fulfills its “One Teacher One Laptop” initiative after making the teachers pay up for them.

“Over two and half years now, some of our members haven’t received their laptops. Mainly some teachers at the kindergarten, education officers, and the Arabic teachers and some primary school teachers,” District Chairman of GNAT-Afigya Kwabre, Sarfo Sarpong, spoke on behalf of the group.

The GNAT and two other teacher unions in May this year embarked on a nationwide strike to demand better service conditions.

“National Labour Commission serving as a mediator gave government June ending to honour its part of the contract by supplying the outstanding. Today, July 22, there are still over 50,000 laptops left to be supplied,” Sarfo Sarpong added.

According to the teachers, the absence of these laptops is adversely impacting teaching and learning, especially in remote areas.

The teachers aver the national curriculum for their teaching have all been uploaded on to the laptops and would need them to aid with teaching.

“Some teachers have to do this manually. We claim to be digitalizing, what’s about the teaching space?. They’ve decided to give tablets to the students when we, teachers, need them for teaching,” Evans Temetey, District chairperson for Manya Krobo, said.

Some of the local leaders have suffered near attacks from their members.

“I went for BECE monitoring and the teachers attacked me, demanding where their laptops were. It is really embarrassing to have someone who has only spent 4-years in the teaching profession insult me who has been in this for close to two decades,” another district chairperson lamented.

The group has given the government a one-week ultimatum to commence processes of distributing the outstanding consignment of laptops.

Source; Myjoyonline.com

Stoppage of July 2024 Salaries for All Teaching Staff of the Colleges of Education (CETAG)

The Minister of Education has directed the stoppage of July 2024 salaries for all teaching staff of the Colleges of Education (CETAG) due to their failure to call off an illegal strike from June 2024. College Principals are instructed not to validate these salaries. The letter is issued by Nicholas Ameyaw, Head of IPPD, on behalf of Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai.

The Letter Reads

At the instance of the Minister of Education on the non-adherence of CETAG members to call off
an illegal strike from June 2024, you are by this letter requested to stop the salaries of all teaching
staff of the Colleges of Education (CETAG) except for the College Principals for July 2024.
By this letter, College Principals are not to validate the July 2024 salaries of all teaching staff.
We count on your usual co-operation.

NICHOLAS AMEYAW
HEAD, IPPD
FOR: PROF. AHMED JINAPOR ABDULAI
Cc:
Minister of Education
All College Principals
Office Location:
GA-452-0871
East Legon-Trinity- IPS Road; Adjacent Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana, Accra – Ghana

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Source; news.cbgist.com

National Standardized Test NST for P4 and P6 this July 2024; Check Questions Format

GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE

ALL REGIONAL DIRECTORS OF EDUCATION

LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT

Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has granted approval to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) to:

• Train regional-level master trainers.
• Monitor the test administrators’ training at the district levels.
• Ensure that test materials are well managed and packaged after each test administration session.

The primary objective of the workshop is to equip all Regional and District Directors, District Examination Officers, Training Officers, and test administrators with the necessary knowledge and skills to support the smooth organization and administration of the Primary 4 and 6 National Standardized Test (NST). The workshop will cover a comprehensive range of activities, including:

1. Test Administration Procedures
2. Training Delivery Techniques
3. Quality Assurance and Monitoring Protocols
4. Roles and Responsibilities of both Regional and District Directors of Education
5. Proper Handling of the Scannable Sheets
6. Q&A Session

Please find attached details of the training workshop and officers assigned to each region for your perusal. You are requested to communicate the above to all District Directors of Education within your jurisdiction about this important national exercise.

Test Administration Day for P4 is Monday, 22nd July 2024

Test Administration Day for P6 is Tuesday 23rd July, 2024

General Overview of the National Standardized Test (NST)

NATIONAL STANDARDIZED TEST: DATE, FORMAT, AND OTHER DETAILS

ITEM FORMAT FOR PRIMARY TWO

• Items are not multiple-choice.
• They are sub-tasks that assess foundational skills.
• The test is administered one-on-one using tablets.

ITEM FORMAT FOR PRIMARY FOUR

• Items are multiple-choice.
• Duration: 1 hr 15 mins per paper.
• The test is administered in each school (private and public primary schools).

Mathematics Test Overview

• Administered as the first test of the day for Primary 4.
• Scannable answer sheets will be used.
• Each student will be assigned a 4-digit index number.
• Learners will use their test booklets to work out mathematical problems (no additional paper will be given).
• Test administrators will read the instructions and an example test item to the learners.
• Test administrators do not read any test items from the test booklet itself—only from their TA script.

English Grammar Test Overview

• Test administrators will read only the instructions and an example test item to the learners.
• Test administrators do not read the test items aloud.
• For the English grammar, reading, and writing test, learners will begin directly after the listening comprehension part of the test concludes.

English Listening Comprehension Test Overview

• Administered after a 30-minute break and is the first of the English tests given.
• For listening comprehension, test administrators will:
  • Read the instructions.
  • Read an example test item and answer options aloud.
  • Not read answer options during the actual test.

All parts of the English test (listening comprehension, grammar, reading, and writing) are in one test booklet.

The NST is not meant to replace teacher-made tests. Ten parallel forms of the test with serial codes will be used for the P4 NST. Each test form will have different order of questions, implying that each learner will have a different order of questions. The test shall be conducted simultaneously under the same conditions. The NST for Primary 4 and 6 are not high-stakes examinations and are not meant to ‘witch hunt’ any teacher, school, or district. They are not for ranking schools and learners but to identify learning challenges in schools.

Engaging in malpractice to attain high scores will mislead stakeholders about the true learning difficulties, resulting in no support or intervention for your school.

Headteachers should note and assist the test administrators upon their arrival at the school. No staff should interfere with the exercise as it is a nationwide initiative.

The NST seeks to assess the learning attainment of children to identify gaps and institute appropriate interventions for positive outcomes. Past questions can be accessed on our Teacher platform. All children will be given an index number based on the unique EMIS code generated from the submitted data. Schools that have not submitted their EMIS data are advised to do so.

GET SAMPLE PAPERS HERE PDF

Public Sector Workers Salary Negotiations and Minimum Wage for 2025: What to Expect

When will the 2025 salary negotiations commence?

This question has been frequently asked by many, reflecting the anticipation and hope surrounding the upcoming negotiations. Public sector workers in Ghana are eager to see what the future holds for their wages.

Ghana’s Revised National Daily Minimum Wage for 2024

In accordance with Section 113 (1) (a) of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), the National Tripartite Committee increased the national daily minimum wage from GHS 14.88 to GHS 18.15, effective from January 1, 2024. All establishments, institutions, or organizations with daily minimum wages below the new rate had to adjust accordingly. This adjustment also brought about an increase in taxes and utility costs.

Historical Wage Increments

Recent years have seen varying increments in base pay under the Single Spine Salary Structure:

• 2022: 7%
• 2023: 30%
• 2024: 23% for the first half, with an additional
• 2% from July to December  2% Increment of Public Sector Base Pay in July Second Tranche

Despite these increments, workers argue that the value of their pay has diminished due to inflation and rising living costs.

Get the Current Update on Salary here Public Sector Salary Updates WhatsApp Channel

Upcoming Negotiations for 2025

With the new year approaching, workers are eager to know when the negotiations for 2025 will commence. Some suggest timing the negotiations close to the election period but ensuring they conclude before the elections. The concern is that politicians might delay these negotiations until next year, which would be unfavorable for the workers.

The Role of the National Labour Commission (NLC) and Trade Unions

The National Labour Commission (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and sister associations have demonstrated their influence in managing the country’s labor issues. Their recent collective intention to strike over the sale of a 60% stake in SSNIT Hotels highlighted their power. Such actions remind us of the significant impact these unions can have when they unite for a common cause.  Organised Labour Strike 

Current Economic Pressures on Workers

Inflation, utility bills, and high prices of goods and services are eroding workers’ salaries before they even receive them. This financial strain is further exacerbated for those involved in foreign trade with the dollar. Workers are hopeful for an increase in the minimum wage and salary increments for the coming year.

Looking Forward to 2025

As of July 13, 2024, the minimum wage of GHS 18.5 is equivalent to $1.19, given the exchange rate of $15.5000. Workers are advocating for an increase that will significantly impact their lives, enabling them to pay bills, fees, and support their families.

They desire a realistic proposal, with many suggesting an increment of more than 50% of their basic salary, especially after the unions’ previous 70% proposal ended with just a 23% increment.

The 2025 salary negotiations are crucial for public sector workers in Ghana. With the economic pressures they face, a substantial wage increase is not just desirable but necessary.

The role of the unions will be pivotal in these negotiations, and workers are looking to them for a favorable outcome that will improve their quality of life.

source;Gesi360.com