GNAT Stages Walkout Protesting Deputy Education Minister’s Broken ‘1 Teacher, 1 Laptop’ Promise.

In a dramatic display of dissatisfaction, the National Council of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) walked out on Deputy Education Minister, Prof. Kingsley Nyarko, at their annual national council meeting in Kumasi. The protest was in response to the government’s failure to fulfill its promise of providing laptops to teachers across the country.

Key points include:

• Background of the Promise: The government had committed to providing one laptop per teacher under the “One Teacher, One Laptop” initiative, funded by a 30% salary deduction from teachers starting in 2021.
• Unfulfilled Promise: Despite this, over 50,000 teachers have yet to receive their laptops, leading to widespread frustration among the teaching community.
• Protest Actions:
• During the meeting, teachers and GNAT members booed Prof. Nyarko and prevented him from delivering his speech.
• The council members chanted, “Away! Away! No laptop, no council meeting!” which led to the disruption of the event.
• Demand for Accountability:
• Teachers are calling for the immediate fulfillment of the laptop distribution promise.
• Sarfo Sarpong, District Chairman of GNAT-Afigya Kwabre, highlighted that teachers in various roles, including kindergarten, education officers, and Arabic teachers, are still waiting.
• Impact on Education:
• The absence of laptops is affecting teaching, especially in remote areas, where digital resources are crucial for effective education.
• Teachers are struggling with manual processes as the curriculum has been digitized and needs to be accessed via laptops.
• Previous Actions and Current Situation:
• GNAT and other teacher unions went on a nationwide strike in May demanding better service conditions.
• The National Labour Commission had given the government until the end of June to deliver the laptops. As of July 22, the delivery is still incomplete.
• Urgent Demand:
• The teachers have issued a one-week ultimatum to the government to begin distributing the remaining laptops.

The teachers’ frustration underscores the critical need for the government to address this issue promptly to avoid further disruptions and dissatisfaction within the education sector.