Deputy Minister of Education in charge of tertiary Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa revealed this at a public forum dubbed “Government for the People”, in the Greater Accra region on Tuesday, 12 July.
This forum is to educate the general public on developmental projects undertaken by the Mahama-led administration.
“When we got to the Ministry of Education, teacher absenteeism was 27 percent. The president asked Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang to declare war on it. I am happy to report to you that we have seen the most drastic reduction in teacher absenteeism ever recorded in this country from 27 percent to 9 percent,” Ablakwa said.
He said there are 39,200 teachers on the government payroll. The Minister of Education Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang in 2014 inaugurated a committee to work and find solutions to teacher absenteeism. The inter-sectorial committee, known as the ‘Zero Tolerance for Teacher Absenteeism’, was tasked to reduce this menace in the education sector.
Ablakwa intimated that even though the ministry and the committee have worked hard the target is to record no case of teacher absenteeism at all. He said “so yes we have made progress but our target is zero percent. It is not fair to the Ghanaian child to go to school and for a teacher who is being paid not to show up”.
To attain this he said the ministry cannot do it alone. He called on all concerned stakeholders to help in attaining this feat the ministry dreams of.
“We urge everybody to assist and monitor the schools to ensure that our teachers are showing up. And that we don’t allow a few people to dent the image of that noble profession of teaching.”
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