CETAG reaches an agreement with the govt to call off strike action

The leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the government have reached an agreement to call off strike action that has disrupted academic activities since June 14, 2024.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with stakeholders, CETAG’s National Trustee, Maxwell Bunu, said most of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana’s concerns have been addressed by the central government.

He indicated that while a final decision on ending the strike will be made after further consultations with CETAG’s leadership, initial responses to the issues have been positive.

“The issue of all-year-round work and then the de-freezing of the July salary and the payment of the August salary—I think all these concerns have been addressed. And as a National CETAG Trustee, I don’t think with my experience here, it will be prudent for CETAG to remain on strike.

So as we have indicated here, we would certainly go back and convey all the issues that have been discussed and approved of by the officials here, so that by the close of tomorrow, with consultation with the council, I think we will do the needful because we cannot continue to be on strike forever,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffour Awuah said plans have been put in place to make up for the lost academic time.

“Let me also take this opportunity to plead with our students, who perhaps may have gone home as a result of the strike action, to also hurry up and return to school so that academic work can resume.

PRINCOF and CETAG have been tasked to work together to make sure that the hours lost are made up in a very short time so that it does not affect the next academic year,” the Employment and Labour Relations Minister said.

Ignatius Baffour Awuah’s comment follows the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) appeal to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to adjust the 2023/2024 academic calendar of government Colleges of Education in the country.

The President of NUGS, Daniel Oppong Kyeremeh, citing the best interest of teacher trainees in an interview with Starr News appealed to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to adjust the College academic calendar.

“We are proposing an adjustment of the calendar, not a complete reset. We have already started the academic calendar and reached a point where some students are preparing for examinations

At this moment, it would be very difficult to start exams immediately upon returning to school. There should be an opportunity to accommodate the material lost over these three to four weeks. We are asking for an adjustment to the academic calendar. Resetting everything would disrupt the entire calendar,” he said in a letter to GTEC.

The president added “We need to make adjustments to accommodate the issues that have arisen. For instance, our Level 400 or 300 students on their out-programme who rented apartments for their placements have wasted their rent

They are now wondering what to do next. If we don’t review the academic calendar, it will affect these students who fund their rented places out of their own pockets. Without an adjustment, the itinerary of these students will be severely impacted.”