The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has expressed readiness to effectively partake in the National Education Forum, to highlight funding shortfalls within the educational system of the country.
This comes after President John Dramani Mahama established an eight-member committee to oversee the organisation of the National Education reform, to publicly dialogue on ways to improve on the educational sector in the country.
In an interview on the Channel One Newsroom, General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Tanko Musah raised concerns regarding debts owed the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the challenge of financing the School Feeding programme for basic schools across the country and the capitation grant which lies in arrears.
He further lamented the growing concern of student indiscipline witnessed recently in some Senior High Schools and called for reforms in the disciplinary system.
“The major problem facing us is funding. All the problems we are going to discuss, it is about where to get money, pay for them. And like I always say, capitation grant is in arrears for over two years. We are owing WAEC for over GH¢100 million. The school feeding, we are owing. How can we feed students GH¢1.30 a day?
“We will go there and bring to their attention that currently as a people, we have lost the effective aspect of training our children which has to do with character and conscience. And we will run into danger when we train children with knowledge and they don’t have character.
“We must revisit the issue where we have disabled the headmasters and everything, otherwise we will be in trouble in the coming years.”