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In July 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo told a gathering of teachers that theirs was a sacrificial job which was crucial to society but one that cannot earn them lots of money – unfortunately.
That comment received varied interpretation at the time but has popped up in a time when the University Teachers Association of Ghana, UTAG, are on strike.
According to Ekow Djan, National Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress’ Tertiary Education Institutions Network, TEIN, it will be apt for the president to intervene in the UTAG strike which is hitting hard at students but to also retract and apologize for his comments in July.
Speaking on Power FM’s evening news on Monday, August 16, 2021; Ekow stressed that the time was opportune for the president to revisit and make amends for his statement.
“The president also made a statement recently that teachers cannot be millionaires but we are taking the opportunity through your outfit to appeal to him to retract and apologize for the comment.
“To show he is an elderly person and that what he said, he did not say it well and that he is sorry,” the TEIN leader added.
On the UTAG issue, he reiterated TEIN’s call for all members across the country to wear red armbands in solidarity with their striking lecturers who have been out of the classrooms for the last few weeks amid a service of conditions impasse with government which they say date as far back as 2012.
A court yesterday impressed on UTAG and the National Labour Commission to resort to out of court settlement on the issue after fining the Association 3,000 cedis for abusing court processes.
What did Akufo-Addo say when he met GNAT executives:
The nation has to continue to be grateful to you for the sacrifice that is involved in teaching especially when you look at conditions of service which are not necessarily what you will desire and I understand.
Nevertheless, I don’t think there is anywhere in the world that people go into teaching expecting to become millionaires and make money. If you want to do that, you do other things.
If you want to do teaching, it is because you want to make a contribution to the welfare of society and its youth and you have done that very very well.
