From Samuel Agbewode, Ho
The Volta Regional Secretariat of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is helping teachers to live up to expectation in the performance of their professional duties in the various schools across the region.
Therefore, there is the need for those who are not members of the Association to make the necessary effort and join for their own maximum benefit.
The Volta Regional branch of GNAT started in 1975 with the vision to seek the welfare of teachers as well as to promote their professional development. This led to the election of officers and formulation of policies to guide the Association.
The elected officers provide policy framework while the personnel implement the policies to ensure smooth administration of the Association.
The quality of leadership experienced over the years has attracted 17,700 teachers at the basic, Secondary and Colleges of Education to become members of GNAT in the Volta Region.
THE MAIN ACTIVITIES OF GNAT
The GNAT’s main activities are to offer trade union services, promote professionalism and ensure high academic standards among its members by regularly upgrading their skills and knowledge to ensure that they are abreast with modern trends in the teaching profession across the world in providing holistic education.
Also, to help the individual teacher in cases such as wrongful dismissal, transfer of teachers as a way of punishment. This the association does by engaging legal practitioners to protect the interest of the teacher in the discharge of his or her professional duties
The Association also put up a hostel facility at the regional capital, Ho to provide accommodation for teachers who travel to the capital to participate in in-service training organized by GNAT, weekend courses and teachers who visit the capital and have accommodation challenges.
In order, to ensure that the rights of members are protected GNAT in collaboration with the Federation of Canadian Teachers Association organized various upgrade courses for teachers in the region.
The two associations also jointly provided some six communities in the Volta region namelyto and also helped communities with projects for example six communities in the Volta region namely Bokorvikope, Matse Nukuasi, Dohia and Awudome Mangoase with modern class room blocks to aid teaching and conducive learning.
Teachers who are involve in an accident or sick receives assistance from GNAT as well as offer support for teachers to embark on social celebrations like wedding and during the death of a relative of a teacher who is a member of GNAT to ensure that the member does not bear alone the expenses that emanate from such social activities.
GNAT’S SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS
The various schools celebrating their speech and prize giving days enjoy maximum assistance from the Regional Secretariat of GNAT; however, this kind of support was based on request from the school authorities and special support given to institution that had requested for urgent assistance during disaster.
For example the Volta Regional Secretariat of GNAT went to the aid of the Jasikan College of Education last year when one of its dormitories got burnt.
The willingness of GNAT to ensure vigorous academic activities throughout the country led to GNAT officers serving on a number of committees to help influence policy on education which has over the years yielded positively in the nation’s efforts at ensuring vibrant educational activities in schools.
DESEMINATION OF INFORMATION
The Volta Regional Secretariat of GNAT over the years experienced dynamic leadership trying in trying to keep the teacher abreast of relevant information that would keep him or her to be current in discharge of the professional work; hence various strategies were adopted to help ensure free flow of relevant information to teachers.
The quest for smooth method of dissemination of information that affects the teacher resulted in the Regional Secretariat of GNAT coming up with a Bulletin called -“The Volta Teacher”- which was specially designed to cater for the information needs of the teacher particularly updating the knowledge of the teacher on the professional conduct of the teacher to guide him or her.
The Regional Secretariat also prepares teachers for their promotion and help to address the financial challenges that face them by educating teachers on the Teachers’ Fund, which helps the teacher to supplement retirement benefits and have access to personal loans that can help them to build their own houses as well as acquire cars.
The teacher now seems to get some kind of financial relieve because under the teachers fund opportunity is given to teachers who are interested in establishing businesses to have access to loan facilities for the purpose apart from the bright future the teacher would embrace on the day of retiring from active service. The teacher at the end of service would be given all the contributions made with interest accrued whilst in active service as yearly presentation of their accounts were made to them.
CHALLENGES
The 1992 Constitution, which allows for freedom of Association, brought in competition, as unions compete for membership, a development that most of the times was characterized with misinformation being peddled against GNAT by its opponents.
This development affects GNAT in its drive to get more members, making the Teacher Association very weak at the local or basic levels, coupled with the movement of teachers from one school to the other.
Another issue of much concern to GNAT is the lack of commitment of members, as they gather wrong information that they rather use, thereby making the Association not to grow fast as expected, particularly teachers at the basic level of education who are the foundation of the Teacher Association ought to consider the benefits that would be derived as members in active service and on retirement.
The Volta Regional Secretary of GNAT, Mr. Linus Attey disclosed that the major problem confronting the Association was the encroachment on the land in Ho, on which the Regional Secretariat was built, as some people from the family where the land was bought, started litigating with GNAT unjustly after the necessary documents have been prepared on the land by the Association.
WAY FORWARD
The Volta Regional Secretariat of GNAT will embark on serious membership education drive on conditions of service, code of conduct and embark on serious recruitment drive for teachers under training at the various Colleges of Education, as well as training of school representatives of GNAT would equally be intensified.
The teacher is one of the most respected worker in the society as many other professionals could not have been who they are today without the teacher therefore GNAT would continue to upgrade the skills and knowledge of teachers with emphasis on computer literacy that would enable them to meet the changing trend in the technological development in Information Communication Technology (ICT).
CAPTION: PIX 1 is the Volta Regional Secretary of GNAT, Mr. Linus Attey,
PIX 2 shows the GNAT regional hostel in Ho
PIX 3 is the GNAT regional conference hall complex