Striking teachers who have been ordered back to the clasroom with a court order have warned their return will have consequences for the nation.
According to the teachers, it will be wrong to assume that an unhappy teacher will deliver as they are expected to do.
Speaking to Starr News, President of the coalition of concerned teachers King Ali Awudu said the action by the national labour commission will have dire consequences on education in the country.
“Forcing the teacher into the classroom is one thing but having the teacher to teach when forced into the classroom is another thing. We are not asking for salary increment but instead salary arrears and we are being told of a court order? Okay, we are here. We will see. Same thing happened in Switzerland some time ago and the teachers went back to class and taught the children that a dog is hawk and the children went home challenging their parents,” he said.
Three Teacher Unions in the country declared strike over unpaid allowances which dates back as far as 2016.
The unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).
Speaking to the media, President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Philippa Larsen said teachers have been patient enough.
“We are not prepared to see our teachers suffer as a result of somebody’s negligence. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears and the status quo remains. We cannot continue to tolerate this. Indeed, for how long shall they ignore our members. The teachers – the purveyors of education, don’t expect us to continue to look on. We can’t stand this.
“In light of this development, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana, do hereby today [Thursday] declare a strike by our members effective Monday 9th December 2019.”