COVID-19: Six Private sch. proprietors die from shock over inability to pay salaries

Six proprietors of Private Schools in Ghana have died from shock following their inability to pay their teachers’ salaries since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Executive Director of the National Council of Private Schools, Enoch Kwasi Gyetua who made the revelation stressed that the closure of schools in the wake of COVID-19 has caused so much financial stress to school proprietors, teaching and non-teaching staff of private schools.

‘”We have lost about six private school proprietors during this pandemic through heart attack. Whenever they say their teachers coming and demanding for their salaries and other things they just fall off and when you rush them to the hospital they don’t come back again. We’re even going to bury one of our colleagues next week just because of all these things. So we are not faulting anyone that this disease has come to our jurisdiction, but what are the best practices we can put in place to ensure that the kind of disease would be controlled and make sure that life will also continue,” he said in an interview with Starr FM.

President Akufo Addo in his last update on the country’s measures put in place to fight the coronavirus on Sunday announced that Junior High School Form 2 and Senior High School 2 students are to resume school on 5 October to 14 December 2020 to complete their academic year.

While Nursery, kindergarten, primary, Junior High School 1, and Senior High School 1 students are to resume on January 2021.

The Coalition of Private School Teachers-Ghana (CPST-GH) had threatened to demonstrate against the Akufo-Addo-led government if schools across the country are not opened by Tuesday, 22 September 2020.

CPST-GH also say they will boycott the December 2020 polls if the schools are not opened to enable private school teachers who have not earned any salary since the closure of schools following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic regain their source of income.

A statement issued by the coalition and signed by its National President Nana Kwame Duodu on Thursday, 27 August 2020, noted that “President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo closed down schools, across the country on Monday, 16 March 2020 as part of measures to prevent further spread of the deadly COVID-19 and since then, other restrictions imposed by the President demonstrated that he is a good leader.

“The measures instituted by the Akufo-Addo government earned him admiration both in Ghana and at the international level. These notwithstanding, the easing of the restrictions by the President vis-a-vis the low levels of active cases in Ghana have paved way for most businesses to bounce back.

“It is conspicuous that political activities that have been undertaken in this country were done with a lot of courage by the president because he believed safety protocols spelt out will ensure safe execution of all political activities. As we stand as a country majority of business are operating in full/normal capacity.

“The President in his last address announced that the air borders will be opened on the 1st of September and indicated further that stringent measures will be instituted to prevent the importation of new cases. The question on everyone’s’ lip is that, are the advisers of the president saying that, getting children back to the classrooms are riskier than opening the air borders? Or the President is not confident with the safety measure that is applicable to all will be adhered to in schools.

“The Private School Teachers have been neglected leaving over hundreds of thousands of them hopeless. Since schools were closed in March, most private school teachers have stayed without salaries, for about six months that children have been kept out of school, teachers in the government sector have enjoyed full salaries without work and the closure of schools have paved way for public sector teachers to reap from where they have not sown though it is recognised that it is not their making.”

The CPST-GH further continued that: “The plight of the private school teacher has been so pathetic for the past six months rendering most of them living far below the poverty line while some have died out of hunger and inability to pay for medical attention. The stimulus packages given did not reach private school teachers and we have all been left to our fate.

source: kasapafmonline.com