Management of the three Teacher unions, Ghana National Association of Teachers GNAT, National Association of Graduate Teachers NAGRAT, and Coalition of Concern Teachers Ghana CCTGH has officially rejected GES extension of instructional hours in Basic schools as it is a breach of the code of conduct of staff of the Ghana Education Service.
According to them, their attention has been drawn to a circular from the Municipal Director of Education,
New Juaben South, in the Eastern Region, titled: TO ALL HEADS OF PUBLIC
SCHOOLS: EXTENSION OF INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS IN ALL PUBLIC
BASIC SCHOOLS,
Informing the Heads that Instructional hours in all public Basic Schools in the
Municipality at all levels have been extended, with the schools to now start classes at
8.00 hours GMT, and close at 15.00 hours GMT, effective Monday, 23 August 2021
until otherwise directed
They said they find this directive unacceptable and against the letter and spirit of Article 3.3 of the
Code of Conduct for Staff of the Ghana Education Service, specifically,
a) Article 3.30) which reads: Working hours per day shall be as prescribed by Law,
b) Article 3.3i: Contact hours for staff and time for reopening for duty shall be
determined through negotiations by GES and the Unions, and
Article 3.3(iv): A staff may be required to work beyond the required time in
certain circumstances to be determined by the head, or GES and the Unions.
click here to read Teacher unions full statement
circular offends Section 13 of the Collective Agreement for Staff within the
Ghana Education Service (GES), August 2020, specifically Section 13.2 which stipulates that: All other Conditions of Work shall be
determined by a Joint Negotiating Committee, made up of ten (10) persons each
from the Government Team and the Union. They include:
() Hours of work, Contact hours.
They again refer to the Press Statement of the Pre-tertiary Education Unions
GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT-Gh), of 10 August 2021, and the item on Contact and
Working Hours, in which the reminded the Ghana Education Service, that the hours
teachers are required to work per day and per week should be determined by Ghana
Education Service and the Teacher Unions, as required by the Collective Agreement.
They said the union are not sure whether the directive is general for all schools across the country,
or an initiative of the New Juaben South Directorate of Education on its own
accord, and for whatever reason.
Whatever it is, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, finds it a breach of
Union trust and practice, within the context of the Code of Conduct for staff of the
Ghana Education Service (GES), both documents being the regulatory frameworks for
education in the country.
In the light of the above, they find the directive arbitrary and an imposition, since it has
not arisen out of any consultations between the concerned parties (i.e. Ghana
Education Service and the Unions). They, therefore, call for its immediate withdrawal
and to serve notice that any attempt to force it on teachers would be resisted fiercely.
The unions hope the Ghana Education Service would see reason, and listen to them accordingly, to
engender industrial peace in the country.
For ease of reference, enclosed, please find, photocopies of the relevant stipulations of
the Code of Conduct for the Staff of the Ghana Education Service, the Collective
Agreement for Teaching Staff within the Ghana Education Service (GES), a portion of
the Press Statement referred to, and the circular from the New Juaben South Directorate
of Education.