Prosper Tachie, President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), told JoyNews’ Newsfile that the two‑week strike by teacher unions will not throw the academic calendar into disarray. He said the lost instructional time can be made up once teachers return to the classroom.
“It’s not about the academic calendar. It’s about execution, and once we return back to the classroom, you ensure that we make up for the lost contact hours,” Tachie said, stressing that the strike’s impact could be mitigated with proper mechanisms.
He urged that the focus should not solely be on the disruption to academic activities but also on the welfare of teachers and the need for the government to honour its commitments to them. “It’s quite unfortunate the concentration is on the academic calendar, but not our welfare. If you take good care of the employees, the employees in turn will take good care of the clients,” he added.
The unions suspended the strike after engagements with the Minister of Labour and the Council of State, during which assurances were given to address teachers’ concerns. Tachie said the debate should also consider the implementation of agreed conditions of service.
Moving forward, he expects the two weeks will not derail the entire academic schedule and that normalcy can be restored once the strike ends.
