The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said that the choice of Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman by National Democratic Congress’s flagbearer, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, is a clear indication that he does not take the Ghanaian electorate seriously and has recounted her failures in the Education Ministry.
It is the view of the NPP that after having looked so long and wide, the NDC still has a problem.
Addressing the media in Accra, Communications Director of the NPP, Lawyer Buabeng Asamoah congratulated Professor Naana Opoku Agyeman on her selection and Mr. Mahama for finally picking a running mate.
Recounting the Running mate, Prof. Naana Opoku Agyemang’s failures at the Education Ministry under Mr. Mahama’s administration, the NPP said “Teachers were the hardest hit when Naana Opoku Agyemang was at the helm of affairs at the Education Ministry. Apart from their transportation allowances not being paid, Naana Opoku Agyemang also introduced the practice of teachers working for two years without being paid and being restricted to being paid only three months back pay, no matter how long they had worked.”
The NPP said Prof. Naana Opoku Agyemang had been a teacher herself before she came to the position of Minister of Education, and yet it was during her period that classroom teachers were denied common chalk to be able to write on blackboards. “We remember the infamous “We won’t give you chalk today or tomorrow” comment by Matilda Amissah-Arthur, and this was under the supervision of Naana Opoku Agyemang.”
“It would be unconscionable on our part not to remind ourselves of the key role played by Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang in the Montie Trio saga.
When the ‘Montie Trio’ threatened death upon some Supreme Court Justices, including the then Chief Justice Theodora Georgina Wood, this newly appointed running mate to Mahama was one of those who joined the campaign for their release.”
According to the NPP, She superintended over a supposed Progressively Free S.H.S where students were made to pay Gh1500 to GH1700 per student in some schools. It is on record that, monies budgeted for and approved by Parliament to be paid on behalf of students as day students were never paid till date.
When she resigned as the Minister for Education:
• Teachers were paid three months’ arrears for three years of work, sometimes more than that and sometimes less than that.
• Yearly incremental jump in salary scales of Teachers was wickedly canceled.
• Allowance for Trainee Teachers was canceled at a time they were paying only 9000 beneficiaries claiming it were huge on government’s purse. Today, we have reintroduced the teacher training allowances and we are paying around 46,000 students.
• Research and Book allowances of our hard-working Lecturers were canceled. Today we have reintroduced Book and research allowance and the government has also put together a stand-alone bill to dedicate enough resources for the fund.
• There were no Teaching and Learning Materials in our schools; Ghanaians were insulted even when they asked for common chalk.
• She was by the side of Mr. John Mahama when he promised to build 200 Community Day SHSs and it turned out to be a “suuliya” promise.
• She was again by the side of Mr. John Mahama when they failed to deliver on their promise of building 10 Colleges of Education.
• It was during her reign as Minister for Education that Teachers were always harassed by B.N.I. Officials.
• She presided over the freezing of employment in the Education Sector. And the heightened corrupt practices at the N.S.S. Secretariat. Remember the Secretariat is under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education.
• She has, recently, advised John Mahama to cancel the Licensure Examination for Teachers when, God forbid, they come to power. Any rational person wouldn’t do that because professionalism is anchored on licensing.
• During her tenure as the Minister for Education, the funding for the Progressively Free S.H.S., School Feeding Program, Capitation Grant – were all in arrears.
• She presided over the near-collapse of the scholarships Secretariat. Students on Foreign Scholarships were always complaining because their fees and other allowances were always in arrears. All these anomalies have since been corrected by the N.P.P.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
