Deputy Education Minister Dr Clement Apaak has expressed confidence that schools can make up for the nearly two weeks of instructional time lost during the strike by three teacher unions without significantly affecting the academic calendar. He said the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and his team would collaborate with teachers to develop a strategy to cover the lessons missed during the industrial action.
“I believe the GES Director-General and his team would be able to work something out, of course in consultation with the teachers, so that we can make up for the time lost,” Dr Apaak said. He maintained that the disruption was unlikely to have a major impact on the school calendar, adding that the lost teaching time was not significant enough to derail the academic schedule.
“I don’t think that it is too damaging in terms of throwing off the academic calendar,” he stated. His remarks come after the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana (PRETAG) suspended their strike following negotiations with the government over their conditions of service.
The three unions are expected to resume classroom activities on Monday, October 12, after reaching an agreement with the government to address their concerns. Dr Apaak expressed appreciation to the teachers and their leadership for calling off the strike. He also acknowledged the contributions of the Council of State and other stakeholders whose involvement helped the parties reach an agreement.
