Members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) staged a dramatic walkout on Deputy Education Minister Prof. Kingsley Nyarko, expressing their frustration over the government’s failure to deliver on its promise of providing laptops to teachers nationwide.
The incident occurred during the opening ceremony of GNAT’s week-long annual meeting. Teachers hooted and prevented the Deputy Minister from delivering his speech on behalf of the government.
GNAT officials cited ongoing resentment among their members regarding the government’s “one teacher, one laptop” initiative, which was initiated in 2021. The program involved a 30% deduction from teachers’ salaries to fund the procurement of laptops for educators nationwide.
GNAT representatives say over 50,000 teachers nationwide have yet to receive their promised laptops despite fulfilling financial contributions towards the project.
Afigya Kwabre Sarfo Sarpong, District Chairman of GNAT, expressed disappointment, stating, “For over two and a half years now, some of our members haven’t received their laptops. Mainly some kindergarten teachers, education officers, Arabic teachers, and some primary school teachers.”
He further highlighted that the National Labour Commission had intervened, setting a deadline for the government to fulfil its contractual obligations by the end of June. However, as of July 22, thousands of laptops still needed to be delivered.
The teachers voiced their daily challenges in classrooms due to the absence of laptops, which is significantly affecting the quality of teaching and learning activities across various educational levels.
The standoff underscores mounting frustration within the teaching community and calls for urgent government intervention to address the outstanding issues related to the laptop distribution initiative.
