With the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) joining the Senior Staff Association of Ghana and the Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) in laying down their tools, the Management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been forced to temporarily shut down its basic school.
The three unions activated the industrial action owing to the failure of the government to address their concerns of improved conditions of service. The KNUST basic school was deserted, on Tuesday, January 30 a day after parents were sent notification of the closure. The various classrooms have been placed under lock and key signifying the strike by the unions.
Only JHS three students are allowed to come as they’re being handled by National Service personnel. Last week, both National Service personnel and some contract staff held the fort when the Senior Staff Association members withdrew their services.
“Some of the contract staff are members of TEWU-TUC and the seniormost staff are also part of GAUA. And so, with the three groups all declaring strike, we don’t have any staff there to work and so we have had to do with the unfortunate thing of shutting down the school until further notice”, University Relations Officer, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe said.
Management of the University fears the impact of the strike would be unmanageable if it is prolonged. “If you have about two-thirds of your staff embarking on strike, obviously the system can certainly not run properly. We pray that this doesn’t linger on for too long because it might affect all activities of the school”, Dr Bekoe indicated.
The striking unions are protesting against the government’s perceived negligence of issues related to pensions and the alleged unjust termination of their overtime allowances of their members. For now, students of the KNUST basic school would have to bear the brunt of staying home until the strike is called off.
In Accra, the University of Ghana has announced a temporary closure of the University Basic School (UBS).
This is in response to the ongoing strike action initiated by the Senior Staff Association – Universities of Ghana (SSA-UOG) and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff Association of Ghana (FUSSAG).
As a result, all pupils from KG1 to Junior High (JH) 3 are instructed to stay home until further notice.
However, special arrangements are being made for Junior High 3 students to be recalled to resume their preparations for final examinations.
“Our JH 3 students will however be called back to school in due course to continue with their preparation towards their final examinations after the necessary arrangements have been put in place to that effect.” the statement noted.
By: Ibrahim Abubakar
