The Polytechnic Teachers Association (POTAG) has rebutted claims it is responsible for the current shutdown of some Polytechnic institutions in the country.
The Cape Coast Polytechnic was closed on Monday after lecturers failed to end their on-going strike.
This action was in compliance with the Polytechnic Act which allows a school to be closed down after 21 days of continuous strike.
The Polytechnic Teachers’ Association of Ghana (POTAG) embarked on a nationwide strike to protest the scrapping of their unpaid book and research allowance.
It has been four weeks since the Cape Coast branch of POTAG begun their strike.
The book allowance of Polytechnic lecturers currently stands at GHC1,500 per year per lecturer, while the research component stands at GH¢400.
However, according to the president of the POTAG, James Dugrah the organization isn’t entirely to blame for the ongoing crisis.
“Nobody has set out to achieve that, we are equally sorry that this case has travelled this far. It is a very simple and short matter, that anybody who has the polytechnic education at heart wouldn’t have allowed it to have travelled this far and we have a genuine concern for our dear students” – he said
Mr. Dugrah further questioned governments’ commitment towards the growth of polytechnic education in the country and adding that “the issue is that those to address the issue are not showing concern”
Meanwhile, the National Labor commission has dragged the POTAG to court to enforce its directive for teachers to call off their three-week-old strike.
According to the National Labor commission, POTAG’s failure to comply with the provisions of the Labor Act makes their on-going strike action illegal.
