Cancel Trainees Allowances and improve infrastructure in Colleges

The Executive Director of African Foundation for Educational Development (AFFED) Ernest Kwame Adade is calling on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government through the Ministry of Education to cancel the controversial Teacher Trainees Allowances and improve infrastructure in Colleges of Education.

According to Mr. Adade, it is undoubtedly clear how government is suffocating in honouring it’s promise to pay trainee allowances especially at this time when the allowance has been in arrears for six (6) months.

African Foundation for Educational Development(AFFED) has since the re- introduction of trainee allowance maintained that, the purpose of allowance in our training institutions have been defeated and long outlived.

They have outlined key issues Govermment must address to keep efficient and smooth running of the Colleges.

According to them, the following must be done by government to save training colleges from their current appalling state.”

1. Cancel trainee allowance to give colleges a facelift.

Colleges of Education may soon run a double track system due to infrastructural deficit
2. Channel the over Gh¢400 million into infrastructure development in the colleges.

Colleges need their dormitories converted into hostels, classrooms upgraded into lecture halls.

We are suffering, pay our outstanding allowances now – Service Personnel to NSS
Trainees need updated libraries and standard laboratory.

If as a country, we are still interested in providing incentive for trainees, then the better incentive is a total reduction of the extravagant fees they pay.

The called was made following the failure of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government to pay outstanding allowances meant for continuing students across the Forty-six (46) Accredited Public Colleges of Education.

Akufo-Addo’s government fails to pay teacher trainees allowances for a semester
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has promised to pay Teacher Trainees monthly allowances of GH¢400 to every continuing students in every academic calendar through the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF).

Out of the GH¢400, the Trust pays only GH¢200 to every trainee, GH¢196 to the College’s account for feeding and GH¢4 to the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) as dues.

Unfortunately, the government paid allowances for only two months of two semesters.

Reopening date for Colleges of Education postponed to January 2022
The academic calendar of Colleges of Education started in January 2021 and ended in August 2021 (8 months). But the government through the Students Loan Trust Fund paid allowances for January and February, 2021 only.

Allowances for the months of March, April, May, June, July and August 2021 have not been paid by government.

All efforts by the leadership of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) for government to pay the outstanding allowances have failed.

New calendar for 2021/2022 academic year for Colleges of Education
For more information, kindly contact, Ernest Kwame Adade, the Executive Director of AFFED via

0241196960
SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh