NAGRAT Declares Withdrawal from Professional Learning Community (PLC) Activities
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has announced its immediate withdrawal from all Professional Learning Community (PLC) activities in schools due to concerns over teacher victimization and stress.
In a letter addressed to the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on October 21, 2024, NAGRAT President Eric Agbe-Carbonu highlighted the association’s dissatisfaction with the implementation of the PLC programme, which was originally intended to enhance teacher professionalism and improve teaching and learning activities.
NAGRAT argues that instead of achieving these objectives, the PLC programme has become a source of undue stress for teachers, who are already overburdened.
The letter references Section 20 of Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which entitles all public service workers to a minimum of 15 working days of annual leave. NAGRAT asserts that GES has failed to establish a clear policy regarding teachers’ annual leave, leading to assumptions that school holidays serve as their leave period.
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This lack of clarity has given rise to inconsistencies in the implementation of PLC activities across various schools. Some heads of schools, district directors, and regional directors have introduced local measures, compelling teachers to attend PLC programmes during their holidays. In certain instances, salaries have reportedly been withheld for teachers who failed to participate in PLC activities during their supposed rest period.
In response to this situation, NAGRAT has issued a strong call to its members to withdraw from all PLC activities until GES provides clear directives on the matter. The association has also urged the Director-General to issue a definitive policy on the relationship between PLC activities and teachers’ holiday periods, as well as clarify the legal provisions surrounding teachers’ statutory leave entitlements.
NAGRAT emphasized that failure to address these concerns would leave the association with no option but to embark on industrial action to safeguard the rights of its members.
This announcement is expected to create ripples across the education sector, as teachers seek clarity on their rights and entitlements while performing their professional duties.
Read the letter below:
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