Cries of Ghanaian Professional Graduate Teachers over Upgrading! By Abdul-Latif Ahmed
I am a teacher in Tamale. I have been appalled and demoralized by the discrimination of professional graduate teachers in this Country. I have worked very hard to get and keep my job, investing thousands of Ghana cedis into my education. After doing cost-benefit analysis, I knew I would never make back, with my teacher's salary even after upgrading, yet I'm been denied upgrading, but I did it anyway because I love teaching and I wanted to be the best teacher I could be.
Professional techers are now been demoralised with a policy fuelled and driven by sheer jealousy and envy. How can there be a policy saying, some subjects been taught in our high schools, are not approved for upgrading let alone study leave. I don't want to believe this is a government policy, but silence they say means consent.
This is a policy fashioned out by frustrated teachers who have all of a sudden become administrators and want to hold on to their positions but feel that the young professional teachers, will come and displace them. I can not fathom a policy, crafted to discourage and limit teachers from pursuing some programmes at the universities.
After been denied study leave, you managed to pursue programmes through distance and sandwich, only to come out and be a target of discrimination. The reason for this discrimination is that the administrators are protecting their positions. The non professional teachers can not rise up in rank to displace them but the professionals can.
Due to this, the professional teachers are been denied the right for upgrading, whilest their colleagues at the universities who have done the same programmes with them, are been employed and placed at the rank of principal superintendent non professionals and the professionals, been denied. Ironic isn't it?
The bogus excuse been given by this so called administrators or experts, for this discrimination, is that, professional teachers who have been upgraded, leave the classroom. This is not backed by facts. If I may ask, 'who's most likely to leave the classroom if he or she gets an offer to work outside the classroom?' A professional teacher or non professional teacher.
There are a lot of us out there. Yet some people including our own, feel like it is okay to attack and demoralise us, the very people who are devoted to helping children succeed in life. Did I do my job? Yes. Am I a miracle worker? Sometimes. Am I human like the rest of you? I like to think so but some of the vitriol and attack lead me to think that people think I am not.
Futhermore, believing that an educated professional career deserves a decent wage and benefits is not unreasonable. Why do I teach and why am I planning to continue to teach? Because I love my students and I want to help them have successful futures - I am sure this is the same for most of my co-teachers.
So now do I have to make a choice. Do I stay in education and try to make it on less? Or do I leave and try to find one of those cushy private sector jobs, where you at least get a decent salary? Um, are there even any private sector jobs left?
I don't want to leave my pupils/ students. Because the truth is, teaching kids is a fantastic job. This past week, I taught a seven-year-old how to spell his name. I taught another child how to sound out words, so he could start reading. Watching them, for a little while I felt it was awesome.
I don't want to miss a single day away from my pupils/students. Because who knows? One of them might grow up to be a President one day. No doubt they'd do a better job of it. Absolutely.
In all these, teachers unions like GNAT and allies are not fighting back. To have the greatest impact, we must find a way to mobilize teachers who are in the universities, classrooms and definately they'll go to school, parents, young people and communities.
Without their support, teachers will not succeed in countering these assaults. In our small way, we must take the lead rather than waiting for policy-makers to act. We must resist the efforts to deny us our upgrading.
But this discrimination, envy, hate and scapegoating isn't a good solution and will certainly not lead to a world class school system. I can only hope that people will find their hearts and souls before it is too late.
Professional techers are now been demoralised with a policy fuelled and driven by sheer jealousy and envy. How can there be a policy saying, some subjects been taught in our high schools, are not approved for upgrading let alone study leave. I don't want to believe this is a government policy, but silence they say means consent.
This is a policy fashioned out by frustrated teachers who have all of a sudden become administrators and want to hold on to their positions but feel that the young professional teachers, will come and displace them. I can not fathom a policy, crafted to discourage and limit teachers from pursuing some programmes at the universities.
After been denied study leave, you managed to pursue programmes through distance and sandwich, only to come out and be a target of discrimination. The reason for this discrimination is that the administrators are protecting their positions. The non professional teachers can not rise up in rank to displace them but the professionals can.
Due to this, the professional teachers are been denied the right for upgrading, whilest their colleagues at the universities who have done the same programmes with them, are been employed and placed at the rank of principal superintendent non professionals and the professionals, been denied. Ironic isn't it?
The bogus excuse been given by this so called administrators or experts, for this discrimination, is that, professional teachers who have been upgraded, leave the classroom. This is not backed by facts. If I may ask, 'who's most likely to leave the classroom if he or she gets an offer to work outside the classroom?' A professional teacher or non professional teacher.
There are a lot of us out there. Yet some people including our own, feel like it is okay to attack and demoralise us, the very people who are devoted to helping children succeed in life. Did I do my job? Yes. Am I a miracle worker? Sometimes. Am I human like the rest of you? I like to think so but some of the vitriol and attack lead me to think that people think I am not.
Futhermore, believing that an educated professional career deserves a decent wage and benefits is not unreasonable. Why do I teach and why am I planning to continue to teach? Because I love my students and I want to help them have successful futures - I am sure this is the same for most of my co-teachers.
So now do I have to make a choice. Do I stay in education and try to make it on less? Or do I leave and try to find one of those cushy private sector jobs, where you at least get a decent salary? Um, are there even any private sector jobs left?
I don't want to leave my pupils/ students. Because the truth is, teaching kids is a fantastic job. This past week, I taught a seven-year-old how to spell his name. I taught another child how to sound out words, so he could start reading. Watching them, for a little while I felt it was awesome.
I don't want to miss a single day away from my pupils/students. Because who knows? One of them might grow up to be a President one day. No doubt they'd do a better job of it. Absolutely.
In all these, teachers unions like GNAT and allies are not fighting back. To have the greatest impact, we must find a way to mobilize teachers who are in the universities, classrooms and definately they'll go to school, parents, young people and communities.
Without their support, teachers will not succeed in countering these assaults. In our small way, we must take the lead rather than waiting for policy-makers to act. We must resist the efforts to deny us our upgrading.
But this discrimination, envy, hate and scapegoating isn't a good solution and will certainly not lead to a world class school system. I can only hope that people will find their hearts and souls before it is too late.
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