GES Boss Appointment: Consultant urges education unions to rather fight the law

An Education Consultant has called on Pre-tertiary Education Unions to put an end to the media war against the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah, as the new Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Mr. Williams Boakye- Baafi, who made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, pointed out that, unlike the Ghana Health Services Act 1996, (Act 525), which makes it mandatory for the President to appoint a health professional for the Service, the Pre-Tertiary Education Act 2020, (Act 1049) section 19(1) gave the President the prerogative to appoint anybody as the Director General of GES.

He explained that per the current law governing the Pre-tertiary Education in Ghana, the President of Ghana could appoint anyone he deemed fit, to head the Ghana Education Service.

Mr Baafi therefore said if there was any one to be attacked by the teacher unions, then it was the Pre-tertiary Education Act 2020, (Act 1049) and not the appointing authority or the appointee.

He suggested to the unions against the appointment of Dr Nkansah to push for the amendment of the law as early as possible to avoid future occurrences.

Mr Baafi said if something was not done about the current law, a time would come a medical doctor or any other professional with no teaching or educational experience would be appointed as the Director General of GES.
He also indicated that the appointing authority would have erred if Dr. Eric Nkansah had been appointed as the Registrar of the National Teaching Council of Ghana, the professional body mandated to manage the teaching profession.

He explained that the law governing the Education Regulatory Bodies, Act 2020 (Act 1023) which established the National Teaching Council (NTC) pointed out clearly that the person the President shall appoint should be a registered teaching professional who has taught not less than ten years.

Source: newsghana.com.gh