President of Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana, King Ali Awudu, has admonished the management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to rescind their decision to deduct 10% of the basic salary of teachers occupying government or school bungalows as rent.
In a statement, the Education Service drew the teachers’ attention to “Ministry of Finance circular No. 133385/05/06NTR CAGD of May 15, 2006, requires that occupants of government bungalows are expected to pay 10% of their salary as rent”.
Dated March 11, 2022, the statement further read; “I, therefore, write to inform you that effect from March 1, 2022, all teachers/staff occupying school/government bungalow are to pay 10 per cent of their basic salary as rent.”
King Ali Awudu, in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, threatened the teachers will vacate the various campuses should GES go ahead with their decision.
“If they will force us to pay, then we will ask our house mistresses, our house masters to leave the campus. They should leave the bungalows for the students only to stay in the schools,” he bellowed.
He added that the teachers will move out of their schools to rent apartments somewhere else, then allow the government to ”govern” the students by itself; something he believes the government cannot do.
He also argued the Ministry of Finance’s circular that was issued in 2006 stated it was the duty of the government to furnish the bungalows but the government never did.
”The bungalows in the schools, some are decent, some are in extremely deplorable state and the teachers, themselves, renovate it”, he stated, wondering why the teachers should pay rent.
Although revealing that the teachers receive ”responsibility allowances” aside their salaries, King Ali noted it’s not enough for them.
He highlighted how dangerous it is for the teachers living on campus as the welfare of the students is their daily duty.
”Recently, we heard of Konongo-Odumase where two students stabbed themselves. That is when even the teachers are around and monitoring events. So, when the teachers are not in the school, you can imagine the chaos. So, you cannot keep them in the bungalows to do this job and then tax them. That is our position,” he accentuated.
To him, no teacher should be made to pay rent on the bungalows for any reason stressing ”we will not pay. We are in the school for a purpose…We will not pay because we are working for it”.
