The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) yesterday seized the streets of the nation�s capital, Accra to register its protest against the abolition of teacher training allowance by government.
The tens of demonstrators who marched on the principal streets of Accra are demanding the immediate restoration of the teacher training allowance which has over the many years served as a major incentive to teachers.
The demonstrators which started in the early hours of Monday morning brought together trainees from the Eastern and Greater Accra regions.
The irate teachers began the march at the Obra Spot through some principal streets of Accra and finally to the Ministry of Education to present their petition.
According to them, despite several appeals by teacher trainees and numerous calls by stake holders, individuals and associations such as the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduates Teachers, Teachers and Educational Workers Union among others to the government to rescind its decision of scraping teacher trainees� allowance, government still remains intransigent to their concerns.
Some of the placards had inscriptions such as �we can�t forget you Prez Rawlings, �we need our allowa badly,� no teacher no country,� ,�respect teacher trainees� and �first years can�t pay their fees.�
The National Presidents of TTAG, Mohammed Amin Mansiru, in an interview with the paper said, the change of policy on teacher education will be detrimental to the future of education in the country.
He said �40% of level 100 students were not able to return to school, even those who reported were sent home because they could not pay the exorbitant feeding fees. This has affected academic work greatly. We are as a matter of urgency, calling on the president to intervene immediately by restoring the allowance so that these poor trainees will be able to pay their feeding fee and other bills�
Mr. Mansiru said they are perfectly aware of the current economic and financial crisis in the country and therefore the innocent teacher trainee should not be used as a sacrificial lamb because they believe that quality teacher education can help turn the economic fortunes of the nation.
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