Former Education Minister Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi has assured teachers that the incoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) government will restore their training allowances and tackle their challenges as promised in their 2016 manifesto.

His comment follows calls by the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) on the incoming NPP government to restore teacher training allowance within its first 100 days in office.

The president of the CCT, King Ali Awudu, speaking on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Thursday 15 December, called on the NPP to restore teacher training allowances, cancel the ‘three months’ pay policy, and tackle challenges with teachers’ pensions.

Speaking on the same show, Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi assured teachers of the NPP’s commitment to teachers.

“Let me assure you that the incoming president has already assured that all the promises he made are going to be attended to. In two official meetings, one with the Regional House of Chiefs and also at Manhyia Palace just yesterday (Wednesday, 14 December), he assured the entire nation,” he stated.

“Education is so much a concern for the incoming president that I think he is not going to overlook all the issues that you have raised,” Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi added.

He suggested that instead of the group making their request known on radio, they should book an appointment with the president-elect and tell him their concerns in person.

“I suggest that as a group, and it has been a powerful group, I wish that they manage to secure an appointment with the incoming president just to indicate to him that: ‘Mr President, these are our immediate concerns and that we expect some actions as soon as possible as you promised.’ That I think will be a very good way of handling this particular thing. Not only that, but several other concerns of teachers which have been articulated by the CCT, which are all well known to the incoming president. This will be my approach, but if we start going to FM stations with various issues with reference to manifesto in this fashion, to me that doesn’t sound systematic at all. The assurance I can give is that this matter is going to be handled as soon as practicable,” he noted.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com