Kumasi, March 18, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Students' Representative Council (ARSRC), a council of students' leaders in the various second-cycle institutions in the region, has expressed its total dissatisfaction about the recent statement by leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) threatening to embark on an industrial action.

The Council said, "We wish to state categorically that our total disapproval about the intended strike action". They, therefore, called on parents on whose sweat and toil they school, the government, Ghana Education Service and NAGRAT and all stakeholders in education to do all they could to avert the strike action. This was contained in a statement issued in Kumasi and jointly signed by Master Raphael Sarkodie and Master Frank B. Gyetua, Regional Co-ordinator and Vice-President respectively of the Council.

The statement said, "Final-year students are not happy being used as scapegoats for the newly introduced West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and their situation should not be compounded by any industrial action by teachers". The ARSRC noted that a year ago the same scenario was experienced prior to the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE), stressing that the end results was the abysmal performance of most students, who perhaps could have done better.

The statement further indicated that it was crystal clear that little or no lessons were learnt from these unfortunate developments, since nobody or organisation has commented or cautioned NAGRAT against the would-be strike. The students decried instances where they are always at the receiving end, saying, "Our future must not always be toyed with".