Angry teachers threaten to shut down union offices over laptop deductions

Some teachers kicking against the government’s laptop policy have threatened to lock all union offices by December 31, 2021.

The action, according to them, will be enforced if the monies deducted for the payments of the laptops are not refunded.

They issued the ultimatum during a demonstration on Wednesday, December 15, 2021.

The protest was to drum home their displeasure over the government’s decision to deduct ¢509 from the teachers’ professional development allowance as payment for laptops.

Clad mainly in red attires, they wielded placards some of which read The laptops are sub-standard, Union leaders sitting on their brains, teachers deserve better, refund our GHS 509 among others.

They marched to the various offices of the teacher unions in Accra, arguing the deduction is not right.

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia recently launched and handed over 350,000 laptops under the ‘One Teacher One Laptop’ programme.

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This is in fulfillment of the government’s pledge to equip Ghana’s teachers with the requisite Information and Communications Technology skills to prepare the next generation for the Fourth Industrial revolution.

The laptop, however, becomes the personal property of the teacher and serves the benefit of providing a tool for developing the teacher’s professional and personal capacity.

Under the policy, the government required that teachers pay 30 per cent of the cost of GHS 1,550 through deductions while it paid 70 per cent.

Meanwhile, another group, Innovative Teachers is in court, challenging the procurement process and the brand of computers.

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