By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, Oct. 28, GNA – Dr Eric Nkansah, the newly appointed Acting Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has received the blessings of some concerned teachers who have pledged their support to ensure he succeeds in his new role.
The teachers believe Dr Nkansah has the capacity to head the GES to the satisfaction of all stakeholders and commended the President for appointing a young and energetic man for the position.
Dr Nkansah’s appointment has generated protest from some teacher unions who see him as an outsider being imposed on them by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
They have, therefore, implored the President to appoint someone who will be wholeheartedly accepted by the teaching fraternity or risk industrial action by the close of this week.
According to them, some negotiations that were ongoing with Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwah, the former Director General, had broken down because of his exit from office adding that they were not prepared to engage Dr Nkansah on any issue concerning teachers.
But spokesperson of the concerned teachers, Rev. Nicholas Adu Berko, at a press conference in Kumasi, said the action by the teacher unions was self-serving and not in the interest of the larger teacher population.
He said the argument that Dr Nkansah was not fit to handle the GES because he had not done any education related course was most unfortunate and laughable.
“This is a man who has taught at all levels of the educational system and also served as the Director for Tertiary Education at the Ministry, handling issues involving professors and other key stakeholders,” he said.
“If the unions believed a person with such profile could not manage the GES, then they must be pursuing a parochial agenda,” Rev Berko said.
He said the exit of Prof. Opoku Amankwah should not in any way stall ongoing negotiations with teacher unions or other professional bodies within the GES, adding that Dr Nkansah, by virtue of his role at the Ministry, led several negotiations.
“The appointment of the Director General is the prerogative of the President and as teachers on the ground serving Mother Ghana, we are ready to work with any person as long as he or she qualifies to lead the GES.”
GNA