Pupil Teachers Axed

Pupil teachers across the country have been asked to proceed on leave by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Acting Director-Gener­al of GES, Charles Yaw Aheto-Tsegah, confirmed the development  in an interview last Tuesday when contacted to clarify why the appointments of some pupil teachers were being terminated.

DAILY GUIDE has in its possession, a copy of a letter terminating the appointments of some pupil teachers dated August 15, 2014, from the office of the Municipal Director of Education, Awutu Senya East-Kasoa, Ebenezer Oscar Asare, which was addressed to some pupil teachers in the area.

A similar letter from the Upper West Akyem Munic­ipal Assembly at Asamankese in the Eastern Region had also been dis­patched to pupil teachers in the area.

Sources said the nation­wide exercise was to cut down teachers’ wage bill.

Mr. Aheto-Tsegah pointed out that the con­tract between the GES and the pupil teachers was over and that the GES no longer had space to retain them.

According to him, the teachers were not regular ones and that they w’ere regarded as contract teach­ers who were normally hired on a yearly basis.

“They are what you would consider to be con­tract teachers and when you are recruited as a pupil teacher you are given a one-year term of contract the GES boss stated.

‘And at the end of the one-year you are not guar­anteed a continued stay to be teaching. After that, your continued stay in the service will be determined by good performance dur­ing the period that you were in the service,” he added.

He disclosed that more professional teachers had come into the service and that it was difficult to retain the pupil teachers – also known as non-profes­sional teachers.