Wenchi Municipal GNAT

BRONG AHAFO GNAT REGIONAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE. NEWLY ELECTED EXECUTIVES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Chairman........…………… Mr. Michael Nsiah Agyapong
2. Vice Chairman …………… Mr. Richard Yaw Nseasom
3. Regional GNAT-LAS CORDI ………Mad. Diana Mahama
4. Regional Treasurer ……………Mad. Boateng Cecilia
5. Regional Trustee ……………… Mr. John Kwadwo Antwi
6. Regional 2nd Cycle Rep…………… Mad. Domle Jackline
7. Regional Basic Edu Rep…………… Mad. Helen Anaba
8. Regional Edu. Admin……………… Mr. Afi Yaw Stephen
9. Regional Voc/Tech Rep…………… Mad. Margaret Adu-Damoah
10. Regional Representative to Teacher's Fund Board………… Mr. Prince Amuzu
11. Regional Youth Coordinator ……………Mr. Cosmos Adobasom
12. Regional Rep to National Executive ……………Mad. Mary Ali Wuntimah

B/A GNAT Regional Delegates Conference

Familiarization tour by Regional executives of GNAT

MY FATHER'S ADVICE AS I AM SEARCHING FOR A WIFE...
My son, I will be very raw and sincere with you.
Do not worry about the size of a woman buttock
or breast but worry about the size of her heart
and brain. Worry about the size of her love and
endurance. Because after 5 or 10 years, it will not
be about the breast or buttock.
As you can see, your mum now has a flat chest
and almost flat buttock but we still live together
happily, I still love her and she still love me.
Be careful of a woman that loves money. I mean
the woman that talks ‘every time’ about her hair,
cloths, shoes, bags panties and make-ups.
Marriage is not all about these things. Without
make-up, cloths, shoes and panties a good
marriage will still stand but without love, no
marriage can stand.
When I got married to your mum, I didn’t have a
car or house of my own. I was not even
educated. But I had dreams and she appreciate
and support me. Any woman that does not
support your dream is not worth thinking-a-
minute about. There are women that will see your
dreams better than you, you are lucky if you find
one,
My son, open your ears very well, there is a kind
of woman you should avoid, do not make a
mistake to marry this kind of woman or you will
regret it. I mean a woman that always has bad
things to say about everyone. If you see this kind
of woman, run away.
One of the worst kind of woman you can marry is
the one that complains about everything. If you
buy this, she says you should have bought that, if
you do this, she said you should have done that.
Please stay away!
Most women enjoy talking but the one who talks
for two hours and listen for two minutes is a
potential ‘bomb’. Be wise
Be very careful of a pretending partner. A
pretending woman is not hard to know. She will
always know everything about everything, she will
be careful. Just close your eyes and open your
heart and you will see!
No woman is perfect. If you see a woman who
believes in your dream , who respects you who is
committed and who is not all about herself alone
then don’t let her go.
But remember, you must not be a wayward man.
I have trained you!
If you find a good woman but you are a bad man,
you wont have a good marriage!
I won’t pick a wife for you but I have given you
my advice. When you find her, bring her for my
blessings.

VERY IMPORTANT
B.N.I. INSPECTION
As from Monday 16th November, B.N.I from regional office will be inspecting particulars of teachers from school to school.
The following shall be inspected :
1. Appointment letter
2. Last or most recent promotion letter
3. Three most current pay slips
4. All academic certificates- middle school cert, Jhs cert, A' level cert, Sssce/ wassce and tertiary cert( s)
NB: You will also complete a form presented by BNI Officer in his presence and provide the following information : staff no, rank, full name, immediate past station, present station, date of assumption of office at present station, bank name, Acc. No, SS no, certificate based on which you were recruited and current cert you are paid on.
Pls photocopy all the requirements and stand by for the B.N.I Officer.

Subinso Local GNAT Meeting

Teachers Mutual fund have adapted the USSD Service to make it easier for its cherished members to access their contributions through sms on the phone at any time. They have therefore started texting pass codes to members. If you are a REGISTERED MEMBER WITH FUND ID and you have not received your pass code, kindly visit your GNAT Secretariat for your pass code.

STEP- BY-STEP PROCEDURE TO REGISTER

1.
Dial *767*800 # and send
2.
Press 1 and send to register for the first time.
3.
Enter and send your staff ID as received from teachers fund
E.g. 520110

4.
Enter the passcode received and send
E.g. 220136

5.
Read successful registration message
" E.g. Registered Successfully
This is your fund ID
G013002384

6.
Press Ok to exit

7
Dial *767*800 # and send

8.
ENTER your fund ID

9
Press and send
2 For your ID
3 For CURRENT contribution
4 For your TOTAL contribution

NOTE
Register with your own permanent MOBILE NUMBER.
thanks

GHANA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS (GNAT)
PROPOSAL ON NEGOTIATION OF CATEGORIES 2&3 ALLOWANCES FOR THE TEACHING STAFF OF THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE.

1.0 INTRODUCTION.
Problems of recruitment, attrition and retirement of those in service make for persistent teacher shortage in many developed and developing countries. The consequences of this perennial shortfall in teacher supply to meet demand in terms of the impact on school going children, the quality of their learning and the ultimate impact on the nation’s economic development are not difficult to imagine. That the teacher is the cornerstone of educational development and the crucial role he or she plays in determining quality, effectiveness and relevance of education has been recognized as a prerequisite to achieving poverty eradication, sustainable human development, and equity. However, these will remain a dream if the issue of persistent teacher shortage is not solved.

2.0 TEACHER SHORTAGE
The problem of teacher shortage is not confined to the concern for numbers, but also concerns for quality as well. While the education system of any country must ensure that enough teachers enter the teaching profession, it must also strive to entice the most capable and appropriate people into the occupation and to make efforts to ensure that they stay in the profession through career-long professional development.
To encourage the young to enter the teaching profession, many countries have adopted different strategies to make teaching attractive. In a situation where the image of the teaching profession is in the doldrums and the morale of teachers rapidly declining, measures taken to redress the situation include the raising of the status of teaching. For example, in Britain, when the image of the teaching profession was getting a bashing from the public, the government's recruitment measures included better rewards for teaching. In addition to introducing two pay ranges for teachers, there was also a fast track scheme for earlier advancement of exceptional teachers. Heads of schools who performed well in tough jobs had higher salaries under what was termed improved leadership scheme. The essence
of all these measures was to 'restore teaching to the status it deserves and to make it an attractive career choice'
Teaching in Ghana had remained unattractive for a long time. Many saw it as a sacrificial job and for that matter a vocation which will be rewarded in the heavens after life hereafter. Teachers had lagged behind their colleagues in terms of rewards for untenable reasons such as sheer numbers and lack of funds. To retain and motivate professional teachers and also attract people into the profession, it is being proposed that a retention premium equivalent to 20% of monthly gross salary should be paid to all professional teachers in Ghana.

3.0 TEACHERS DUTIES
Teachers can be required to undertake a wide range of duties, including teaching and pastoral responsibilities, in relation to pupils; reporting on pupils’ progress; maintaining good order and discipline; preparing pupils for examinations; attending staff meetings and Parents’ Teacher Association meetings and attendance at in-service training. Teachers cannot routinely be required to undertake clerical and administrative tasks which do not require the exercise of teachers’ professional skills and judgment. Such tasks should under normal circumstances be undertaken by support staff. Teachers in Ghana are saddled with the performance of the administrative duties without appropriate support so that they can focus on teaching and learning.

4.0 CLERICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES OF TEACHERS
Administrative and clerical tasks teachers undertake include:
1. Collecting money from pupils and parents.
2. Investigating a pupil’s absence.
3. Bulk photocopying.
4. Typing or making word-processed versions of manuscripts materials
5. Word-processing, copying and distributing bulk communications, including
standard letters, to parents and pupils.
6. Producing class lists on the basis of information provided by teachers.
7. Keeping and filing records, including records based on data supplied by
teachers.
8. Preparing, setting up and taking down classroom TLM’s in accordance
with decisions taken by teachers.
9. Producing analyses of attendance figures.
10. Producing analyses of examination results.
11. Collating pupil reports.
12. Supporting pupils by advice and visits
13. Administration of public and internal examinations.
14. Administration of cover for absent teachers.
15. Ordering, setting up and maintaining ICT equipment and software.
16. Ordering supplies and equipment.
17. Cataloguing, preparing, issuing and maintaining materials and equipment.
18. Taking verbatim notes or producing formal minutes of meetings.
19. Transferring manual data about pupils not covered by the above into
Computerized school management systems.
For the administrative and clerical duties teachers perform, it is proposed that an additional duty allowance equivalent to 25% of the monthly gross salary should be paid to all teachers in public educational institutions in Ghana.

5.0 WORKING TIME FOR TEACHERS.
Full-time teachers are required by law to work for up to 40 hours per week. Additional hours are needed to discharge other professional duties, such as marking of exercises and assessment of students/pupils, preparation of lesson plans and teaching and learning materials and report writing. These extra demands prevent teachers from achieving satisfactory work/life balance. School holidays are not meant for teachers. During vacations teachers attend in-service courses for their professional development. Teachers have no leave periods even though they are entitled to annual leave. The holiday periods are used by teachers to do research to equip them with knowledge that are required for effective performance and also marking of examination scripts and performance of administrative and clerical duties. Many teachers, in their attempt to deliver quality service to students/pupils, undertake professional and academic courses without any support from the employer. Such teachers, apart from payment of tuition fees, also buy text books which are quite expensive. Ghana’s labour law makes provision for employers to contribute to the career development of employees. The following allowances are suggested.

1. Research Allowance-25% of Annual Gross Salary payable at the end of each academic year.
2. Book Allowance-25% of Annual Gross Salary payable at the end of each academic year.
3. Preparation of lesson notes and assessment of students-3 extra days pay per month.
4. Annual Leave restoration-2 months gross salary payable at the end of the year
5. Marking of end of term examination scripts-GH₵3.00 per script
6. Training Allowance-20 % of Monthly Gross Salary at each training session

6.0 CLASS SIZES
There is a direct relationship between class size and motivation, teaching method classroom management and assessment. Large class sizes induce stress on teachers. To reduce the stress and make room for effective class management, the internationally prescribed class sizes in Basic Schools is 40 whilst that of Senior High School is 35.
The astronomical increases in school enrolment arising from governments campaign for all school going children to be in school, has had huge impact on teachers work. Many teachers have to struggle with classes which are not less than 80. In the cities, the situation is worse. There are classes which have 100 pupils. The large classes imply more work for teachers and this must be recognized and rewarded. It is therefore suggested that extra class size allowances must be paid to teachers with large class sizes as follows:
1. Class size between 50-70 (10% of monthly gross salary)
2. Class size between 70-100 (15% of monthly gross salary)
3. Class size above 100 (20% of monthly gross salary)

7.0 CLOTHING
Teachers affect eternity and no one knows where their influence begins and ends. Children look on their teachers as their role model and therefore the way teachers dress and appear before them should be of paramount importance to everyone. Dressing shabbily to school is not an option for any teacher who worth his salt. Under normal circumstance the employer is expected to provide uniform for employees to enable them appear decent at the work place. The Ministry of Health provides uniforms for Nurses whilst Medical Officers are provided with clothing allowance. Teachers have nothing of the sort but are expected to appear decent before the pupils’/students they teach. To support teachers to dress decently to school, it is suggested that a clothing allowance equivalent to 50% of their monthly gross salaries should be paid to them at the end of each term as clothing allowance.

8.0 TEACHING IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Teachers in Special Schools apart from doing their normal professional duties, need to go a length more to ensure that the need of children with disabilities are met so that they are not disadvantaged in societies. This extra effort should be recognized and rewarded. We propose the following category 2 allowance for such teachers.
1. Heads of Special Schools-20% monthly gross salary as special responsibility Allowance
2. Teachers with additional responsibilities in Special Schools-15% monthly gross salary as special responsibility allowance
3. Teachers with no additional responsibilities in Special Schools-10% monthly gross salary as special allowance.

9.0 TEACHING IN UNDER-SERVED AREAS
About 70% of teachers in Ghana serve in under- served areas where many public servants refuse to accept postings to. Such teachers apart from sacrificing their professional and career development also suffer deprivation on several fronts. They have no access to potable drinking water, no electricity, no health facility, attacks from the community members, and lack of accommodation. We propose that an underserved area allowance of 20% monthly gross salary is paid to all categories of teachers.

10.0 SPECIAL ALLOWANCES/MARKET PREMIUM
Teachers who are certificated and teach Mathematics, ICT, Vocational/Technical Skills, and Science should be placed on the market premium list and paid 10% of their Monthly Gross Salaries as allowances.

11.0 CATEGORIES 2&3 ALLOWANCES IN EDUCATION NON TERTIARY CLASSIFICATION
The standardization and harmonization of categories 2 and 3 allowances as part of the implementation of the pay reform outlines specific allowances that exist among institutions in the service classification which are not accessible to the teaching staff of the Ghana Education Service. All these allowances should apply to the teaching staff. Specifically, teachers should be given the following allowances
1. Accommodation Allowance for teachers who are not entitled to free Accommodation -20% of monthly Gross Salary per month
2. Utility support for teachers-10% of monthly net salary.
3. Commuted transport Allowance- 5% of monthly gross salary for each month