Hottish Recounts Emotional Experience with GES Officers

OWURA KWADWO HOTTISH (THE TEACHER WHO WENT VIRAL FOR DRAWING COMPUTER ON THE BOARD) RECOUNTS EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE 

On that same day, I had with me a letter from Microsoft which they were demanding a signature to process my traveling to Singapore 🇸🇬. I told the acting director about the content of the letter and that I just needed her signature, she told me in the face, she isn’t going to sign. She has called the regional director and the regional director said, I should bring the letter to her in Kumasi.

I still kept my cool and went back to Sekyedomase and called my assistant head teacher to append his signature and I sent the letter to Microsoft for processing. Just few hours, I was sent my plane ✈️ tickets to travel to Singapore 🇸🇬 the next day. ( Sampson Lardi of BBC Africa, Ohemang Tawiah and the MCE were all aware of her action).

I returned from Singapore on a Saturday afternoon and proceeded to Sekyedomase on Monday to continue my teaching, on my way, I had a call from my colleagues and they wanted to know my whereabout and I told them, I’m on my way to Sekyedomase. Their reason for calling was that, the acting director has called them to find out if I was in school. When I got there, I was told she has come to log in the log book that, I left school without permission. Till now, nothing has happened and still at post teaching.

I heard about the teachers prize and decided to apply. At that time, one has to applied through the district to regional and to National. I applied on a Friday at my district and on a Wednesday, I had a call from the then HR to come for my interview the next day and I told him, I can’t make it so if my interview can be rescheduled to a different day because, I was going for a program in Accra which brought about the second ICT for the community. 

He got furious and hanged up and later called and gave me two options, either I come for the interview on the said day or I count myself out and I told him to count me out because the lab was so much important to me than the interview ( HR fo) no, smh 🤦‍♂️).

Suddenly, we had our own district director and when he came, he was briefed about everything that has happened. He didn’t understand the action of the then HR and called if I was still interested in the interview and I said yes and a date was scheduled for me to and after everything I was among the list submitted to the regional office for further processing. 

I was called by my CS to go for an interview at the regional office and responded accordingly. I was the second to register at the regional office and was hanging around since the interview had not started. 

Bam 💥 !!! , the then acting director came and entered the registration center and had a few talks with the staff there and left. Few minutes after her departure, I was called my name was not on the list submitted by my district and I was like really!!( Can’t tell if she was behind) so I told the man to allow me make a confirmation from my CS and the CS was even surprise so he had to take a picture of the list and sent to me and showed to the man. 

After showing to the man, I told him not to worry if my name was not on the list( It a deliberate action by the HR) and the man was like, just go and try your luck, I didn’t want to but he insisted. I went for the interview and my first question was,

1. What have I contributed to support the growth of Ghana Education Service? 

And I answered, I have been able to get two furnished ICT laboratories for the town they posted me to teach. If this is not a contribution, I don’t know what they were expecting. I answered other series of questions and left and didn’t hear anything until they announced the winner of 2018 teachers prize.

My interest was protected by my employer then but my employer wants me to protect his.

We demand for an educational system devoid of politics. The change we want in our educational system can happen, if we all support the #FIXGES agenda.