The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), has called on the government to dismiss the former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof. Stephen Adei, from his post as Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).
The call from NAGRAT comes after Prof. Adei described Ghanaian teachers as “pure criminals whose outputs are bad and not worth keeping”.
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In a statement signed by the president of NAGRAT, Angel Cabonu, the association said: “Prof. Adei’s current state is not adequately equipped to appreciate the enormity of the challenges confronting Ghana’s Education and for that matter teaching and learning.”
Prof. Adei’s comments were made at a programme to discuss the challenges of the double track system, a makeshift education policy being run by the government.
“Instead of confronting the challenges of the Double Track programme, he rather decided to deviate to attack hardworking Ghanaian Teachers,” NAGRAT complained in its statement.
“NAGRAT hereby calls on the government to relieve Prof. Stephen Adei of the position of Chairman of the NDPC since his pronouncements and tantrums offend the sensibilities of hard-working Ghanaian teachers. His behaviour does not seem to have what it takes to harness our human energies towards national development,” NAGRAT’s statement read.
NAGRAT has defended the commitment of teachers, saying that they “serve this country in every city, town, village and hamlet, sometimes under very strenuous conditions.”
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Find NAGRAT’s full statement below
PRESS RELEASEs
The attention of the leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has been drawn to a statement made by Prof. Stephen Adei calling “Basic School Teachers as pure criminals”.
The fault of the Ghanaian Teacher per the thinking of Professor Stephen Adei is that they take the salaries and send their children to private schools.
Under normal circumstances, the Association would have treated the statement of Prof. Stephen Adei with disdain and the contempt it deserves knowing the track record of his hatred and senile attacks on the Ghanaian Teachers in the past, but for the fact that he has just been appointed as the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) which makes him a government appointee and for that matter a state official who should make public statements taking the sensitivities of people into considerations.
One major point of worry to us is that, Prof. Stephen Adei was invited to the said programme to give a talk on the problems confronting the Double track system he advocated to government to implement. Instead of confronting the challenges of the Double Track programme, he rather decided to deviate to attack hardworking Ghanaian Teachers.
A little education will help Prof. Stephen Adei to appreciate the fact that Teachers serve this country in every city, town, village and hamlet, sometimes under very strenuous conditions. These teachers have to deal with the situation of lack of good drinking water, electricity, no communication, very dilapidated school environment and hostile communities. In spite of these, the versatility of the teacher has helped salvaged an otherwise bad situation.
This is not the first time Prof. Stephen Adei has taken an undeserved swipe at the Ghanaian Teacher. He once called on the government to sack all Teachers. He also referred to teachers as demonic.
NAGRAT cannot establish what actually is pursuing Prof. Stephen Adei, be they spiritual or psychological but one thing we can establish for sure is that Prof. Adei’scurrent state is not adequately equipped to appreciate the enormity of the challenges confronting Ghana’s Education and for that matter teaching and learning.
As a matter of fact, he is one of the chief advocates of the double track system at the Senior High Schools in Ghana but does not find it prudent to replicate same for his own school, the Christian High School near Dodowa.
We call on all Ghanaian teachers to disregard the tantrums of Prof. Adei and treat his comments and attacks with the contempt it deserves.
NAGRAT hereby call on the government to relieve Prof. Stephen Adei of the position of Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) since his pronouncements and tantrums offend the sensibilities of hard-working Ghanaian Teachers. His behaviour does not seem to have what it takes to harness our human energies towards national development.