News:
August 21, 2013
Former Education Minister and current Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mahama Ayariga has said that government’s decision to end the payment of teacher trainee allowances has nothing to do with “the present financial circumstances of our country.”
He was however quick to add that the decision in no way suggests that “government is broke in anyway. Government is not broke, there are challenges here and there but it’s not an indication of a country being broke.”
Teachers and some sections of the general public have criticized government for making attempts to stop the payment of allowances to teacher trainees in the various training colleges across the country.
According to them, most teacher trainees rely solely on the money to pay their fees therefore; ending payment will adversely affect them.
The President, John Mahama has explained that the decision stems from the fact that government cannot maintain the monthly payment because does not have the financial capacity to maintain the allowances.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, the former Education Minister explained that government instituted the allowances as a means of attracting people into the teaching field.
Mr. Ayariga also mentioned that scrapping the allowances will also increase access and “equalize the platform that everybody in the tertiary institution be moved to the loan scheme.”
In a related development, Deputy Education Minister in charge of tertiary education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa clarified that government intends to attract persons with genuine interest in the teaching filed hence, the decision.
“We will now be able to attract people who are genuinely interested in teaching, who have the desire to teach.”
Mr. Ablakwa also stated that the withdrawal of the allowances will help solve some of the challenges being faced in the education sector.
“Teachers not showing interest, some of the absenting themselves and the higher attrition, the least opportunity, they want to leave and go into other profession, we will be addressing this because we will be attracting people who have the genuine interest, the desire to teach and not because there is some allowance somewhere.”
citifmonline.com