Ghana Education Service (GES) logo
Education has become a critical area of concern that most governments seek to address to facilitate the realisation of development goals.
It is against this backdrop that the president, in the exercise of executive functions clothed with authority, “to hire and to fire “. It is not for any reason that the president wields such exclusive authority regarding relevant statutory provisions.
The appointment of personnel to occupy certain key positions in the governance architecture is done with utmost due diligence to ascertain the suitability and competency of such personnel.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) recognises the immeasurable role played by the teacher unions in the implementation of educational reforms in achieving significant milestones in its realisation.
The recent agitation by teacher unions calling for the withdrawal of the Director General (DG) from GES appointments raises serious fundamental issues that ought to be dealt with expeditiously.
It is instructive to note that, Sections 19 (1) (2) (a) and (b) of the Pre-Tertiary Education Act 2020 (act 1049) and Article 195 of the 1992 constitution did not explicitly mention the very educational qualification one must possess before being appointed to such an enviable position.
The combined effect of statutory provisions unambiguously vindicates the decision taken by the president. Rhetorically, where is it stated that occupying the office of the Director General of Ghana Education service requires a professional teacher?
I was surprised to read a press release from the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) captioned, “the law is not subservient to the appointment of the new GES DG “the purported address premised their argument on the blatant breach of Sections 67 (1), 68 (1) (a) and 79 (1) of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023).
However, the import of the statutory provisions is not applicable in the appointment to the office of the director general of Ghana education service and shall be grateful the leadership of GNACOPS will do us the honours to correct that statutory blunder.
In sum, the core functions of the director general of Ghana education service are;
• to ensure day-to-day administration of the education service
• coordination of the education policies and activities at the regional and district level subject to the general directives of the council
• appointment, promotion, transfer, discipline, and dismissal of heads and other staff of basic and senior high schools
• implementation of the decisions of the council
• answerable to the council in the performance of the function
(section 20 (1) (a)(i)(ii)(iii) (b) (c)(d) (2), Pre-Tertiary Education Act, 2020 (Act 1049).
Based on this, I would like to state that the GNACOPS and other Teacher Unions had no business raising a red flag about the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah as the new Director General of the GES.
Again, I wish to state that the appointment of the new DG of GES is the sole prerogative of the president to choose whom he deems fit to steer the affairs of any government institution.