The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) sent a letter on October 21, 2024, to the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), expressing concerns about the Professional Learning Community (PLC) activities imposed on teachers during holidays. The letter highlights that teachers are being forced to attend PLC sessions during their holidays, with some even facing salary embargoes for non-participation.
This, NAGRAT argues, is against the Labor Law (Act 651), which grants all public sector workers at least 15 days of annual leave. The lack of clarity from GES on teachers’ official leave policies has led to these local directives by school heads.
NAGRAT has called on its members to stop participating in PLC activities until GES provides clear guidelines on the matter. They also requested that the Director General clarify teachers’ statutory leave rights, warning that failure to address the issue could lead to industrial action.
THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE
ACCRA
Dear Sir,
WITHDRAWAL FROM PROFFESIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES (PLC)
The Professional Learning Community (PLC) programme activities in our schools is meant
to improve Teacher professionalism and to enhance teaching learning activities.
Unfortunately, it has become a means of victimization and stress to the already over
burdened Teacher.
According to section 20 of Act 651, i.e the Labour Law “in any undertaking every worker
shall be entitled to leave for not less than 15 working days with full pay in any calendar
year of continues service”.
What this means is that, the lowest ranked public service workers should enjoy not less
than 15 working days of leave annually. The number of annual leave days varies according
to the rank of the Public Sector worker.
Unfortunately, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has not clearly come out stating its clear
policy on Teachers annual leave hence the assumption that, the holidays are the leave days
of the Teacher.
Because of lack of clarity, some Heads of Schools, District Directors and Regional Directors
have introduced their own local measures to compel Teachers who are on holidays to be
present for PLC activities.
There are some cases where some Heads of schools without resort to the management of
the Ghana Education Service, placed embargo on the salaries of Teachers for failing to
participate in PLC activities while on holidays.
In the light of the above situation, NAGRAT calls on all it’s members to withdraw
immediately from all PLC activities in the schools until such a time that the
management of the Ghana Education Service clarifies the situation with clear
directives.
We also call on the Director General to come out with clear policy on PLC activities vis a vis
the holiday or rest period of teachers.
We call on the Director General to come out with clear policy with regards to Teachers
statutory leave as prescribed in law.
If the above unacceptable situation persists, we will have no option than to embark on
industrial action to push home our legitimate demands.
Yours faithfully,
ERIC AGBE-CARBONU
President
Distributions
1. All NAGRAT Council Members
2. All NAGRAT National Executive Members
3. All NAGRAT Members
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