The Minority in Parliament has waded into the controversy surrounding the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah as Director-General of the Ghana Education Service.
Last week, President Nana Akufo-Addo appointed the new GES D-G to replace the former GES D-G, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwah following the termination of his secondment.
His appointment has been met with opposition, with the major teacher unions urging President Akufo-Addo to rescind the appointment on the grounds that he is not a professional teacher.
Addressing a news conference, Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Dr Clement Apaak said the teacher unions are right in opposing the appointment.
He said the Minority is opposed to Dr Nkansah’s appointment, not because of the person involved but due to his banking background.
“Up until his appointment, he had only taught briefly not even a full-time capacity but by training, he is a banker and had been deployed to the Minister’s office in 2021 as one of his senior aides so clearly the teacher unions had a problem.
“Where you take away a man who ‘rose through the rank, a professional, earned his due’ and replace him with somebody who earned his due but in a different area of expertise so that is why the teacher unions are opposed to this appointment,”’ he explained.
“When you bring someone who doesn’t have the requisite background or doesn’t meet their standard, it also affects morale,” he added.
He also alleged that claims by the presidency that former GES D-G, Professor Opoku Amankwah was sacked because his skills were no longer required are false.
He clarified that the dismissal of Professor Amankwah is due to the frosty relationship between him and Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, citing the GALOP project as an example.
“When I saw the content from the presidency and the reason assigned to truncate the extended appointment, I was a bit taken aback because anyone who had followed the Education sector and the issues thereof would find it very difficult to admit .. the only real reason is the frosty relationship between Prof. Amankwah and Dr Adutwum.”