The Ho District chapter of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has urged the government to pay attention to the teaching force and provide good working conditions.
The Ho District Chairperson of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Madam Rose Tippong, believes this would encourage teachers to give their best on and off the field and avert strike action.
She said this during a healthy lifestyle exercise to commemorate World Teachers’ Day, following a two-week industrial strike by teacher unions.
The event featured several healthy lifestyle activities, including a 4-kilometre health walk and health screening exercises to help members understand their health status.
Female teachers also participated in breast cancer screening as a first step towards combating the disease, which is best treated when diagnosed early.
The Ho District Chairperson of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Madam Lois Tippong-Asare, said the initiative aims to ensure a healthy teaching force in her jurisdiction.
“We have doctors from our home, a regional hospital, or the boat team, who are taking our members through screening, especially for breast cancer.
“And this month also happens to be Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and so they are screening ladies.
We also have doctors from other hospitals who are here to screen for non-communicable diseases.
And so we are just doing this to make sure that our members are healthy”, she said.
She underscored the importance of a healthy teaching force and called for better working conditions for teachers.
“If the government will not take care of us, then we must take the initiative to take care of ourselves. That is what we’re here today. And so we are adding the government also. It should pay attention to get it. and give what the data is due”, she said.
The Ho District Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Jonathan Lewis Kemevor, recounted the teacher unions’ demands, urging the government to prioritise teachers’ well-being.
“And our demand is just apt. We have to respect the teacher. We are talking about the promotion, uh, placement of their rightful funds and payment of arrears. We are talking about deprived teachers allowance”, he explained.