Western Region: Pupils stranded as strike by teachers begins to bite
At some schools, pupils arrived as early as 7:35 a.m. only to be met with locked classrooms, empty compounds and an absence of teachers.
The nationwide strike by Ghana’s pre-tertiary teacher unions has disrupted teaching and learning in parts of the Western Region, leaving some pupils stranded at schools despite reporting for their normal lessons.
At some schools, pupils arrived as early as 7:35 a.m. only to be met with locked classrooms, empty compounds and an absence of teachers.
A visit by 3news, Ebenezer Atiemo, to schools around Apowa captured the immediate impact of the industrial action on pupils.
At the Apowa St. John’s Methodist Basic School, 7:35 a.m. would ordinarily be a busy period, with pupils settling into classrooms and teachers preparing to begin lessons.
Instead, the school presented a different picture.
Some classroom doors were locked, while pupils who had reported for school were left waiting without teachers to begin their lessons.
For the children, the school day had started, but there was no teacher to take them through their lessons.
The situation was similar at the Ankyernyin Basic School, where the school had opened but normal academic activity was largely absent.
Empty chairs greeted visitors entering some classrooms, while the headteacher’s office was also locked.
The strike has been declared by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana (PRETAG).
The unions are protesting what they describe as delays in placing promoted teachers on their appropriate salary scales.
While negotiations and the issues surrounding the strike continue, the immediate impact is being felt in classrooms, with pupils left without teachers and their normal school routine disrupted.
For the pupils who reported to school expecting a day of lessons, the experience has raised a simple but important question: when will school return to normal?
As the industrial action continues, concerns are growing over the effect of the disruption on teaching and learning, particularly for pupils who depend on regular classroom instruction to keep pace with their studies.