The Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana (TTAG), has described as false, claims by the Ministry of Education that it has released an amount of GH¢50,532,000 for the payment of feeding grants for teacher trainees.
The association has in recent times intensified its call on the Ministry to release funds for their feeding grants, which has been in arrears for some three semesters.
But the Ministry in a statement last week said it had paid the amount.
Jonathan Apam, President of TTAG in an interview with Citi News said, “We have checked from NCTE and the money is not there and the Ministry of Education has given us a memo saying that they have given the money to us. So we find this as a deception.”
He said the Education Ministry must come clear on which agency or institution it purportedly paid the arrears to, so that the association will follow up to receive their monies.
Mr. Apam said he believes the Ministry’s claims of payment is only meant to diffuse the tension created by the association following its public outcry over the situation.
The Ministry in a press statement earlier said it has released a total of GH¢50,532,000 for the payment of grants for public Colleges of Education across the country.
According to a press statement signed by the Head of Public Relations, Dan Osman Mwin, the amount released covers arrears for the second semester of the 2014/15 academic year, as well as the first half of the second semesters of the 2015/16 academic year.
The group attempted to picket at the premises of the Education Ministry and the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Wednesday, to demand the payment of the feeding grants, but were stopped by the Police.
Earlier this year, the government scrapped allowances of teacher and nursing trainees, and promised to pay them feeding grants. But according to TTAG, government has not fulfilled the promise.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor
