The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) has decried delays in the payment of allowances owed its members by government.
According to the TTAG, the delay in the payment has worsened the living conditions of its members amidst the unbearable prevailing economic conditions in the country.
National President of the association, Jonathan Dzunu in an address at the 26th General Assembly of the TTAG held at the St. Francis College of Education in Hohoe in the Volta region disclosed that some 7 months allowance due trainee teachers is still in arrears.
The arrears according to him span the period of January to July 2022 of the 2021/22 academic year.
He lamented that, “Looking at the current economic hardship in the country, you can imagine the difficulty students are going through, life on campus without allowance has become very unbearable for us.”
It is our view that the colossal delay in payment of allowances is going to send the clock backwards and the little successes chalked as a result of the implementation of the teacher trainees’ allowance whittled away, taking into consideration the historical antecedent that led to the implementation of the allowance scheme and the positive effect it has had on teacher education in particular and basic education in general over the years,” Mr. Dzunu added.
Mr. Dzunu also highlighted the increasing frustrations of trainee teachers while pointing out to an imminent food shortage which is likely to hit the Colleges of Education in the coming weeks.
He indicated that suppliers are unwilling to supply food items to the colleges due to their inability to pay for previous supplies.
He urged to government not to use the teacher trainees’ allowance as a sacrificial lamb due to the country’s current economic woes while adding that, “utmost priority should be attached to the payment of teacher trainees’ allowance.”
