OVERAGED DEPUTY GES BOSS EXITS OFFICE ON AUGUST 16
The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in-charge of Management Services (MS), Lawyer Anthony Boateng, is setto finally exit the service on August 16, 2022 after attaining his mandatory age of 60 plus additional two-year contract.
But ahead of the D-day, The Anchor has gathered that people who have benefitted from the 62-year-old’s continuous stay in office are desperately lobbying for additional extension of his contract, instead of allowing himbow out honorably, to allow others to continue.
Sources within the GES as well as Ministry of Education told this paper that Lawyer Boateng was supposed to go on retirement since 2020, but managed to secure one-year contraction extension under former Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
However, following the assumption of office by the current Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Deputy Director-General again bulldozed his way through to secured another one more year, which is expected to expire on August 16; two weeks away.
But it appears, some selfish beneficiaries of the man, who has spent several years at the bar as a lawyer,are allegedly not willing to let the man go home quietly.
Insiders told The Anchorthat selfish elements enjoying his stay are pulling strings to have Lawyer Boateng stay.
This development, the paper is informed,is raising tension within the GES, with some threatening to resist the move should government decides to give another extension for the third time.
This paper has gathered that as many as eleven out of the sixteen Regional Directors have also retired but are still at post and enjoying their salaries and allowances.
These regions, according toformer President of NAGRAT, Kwame Alorvi include; Ashanti, Central, Greater Accra and Northern among others.
Meanwhile, Mr. Alorvi in an article he wrote on the subject dated Friday, May 20, 2022 mentioned that the morale among GES directors awaiting posting is at rock bottom.
“Morale among Directors awaiting posting is at rock bottom. GES operates with a rule that officials appointed as Headmasters and Directors must be able to serve for four years before retirement. All officials with less than four years prior to retirement are not even considered for interview, much more for promotion. Most of the Directors awaiting posting are in their mid-fifties”, Alorvi said.
According to him, “The effect of keeping retired Directors at post while those promoted wait for over two years is that, when the GES decides to post them, they will not have the minimum of four years to serve before compulsory retirement. GES will, thus, not post them. The GES, which has created the problem by choking the pipeline with retired Directors, will disqualify them. What an injustice!”
Mr. Alorvi mentioned that, “The affected officers will be marking time on their former grade, and be overtaken by younger junior officers, who then become their superiors.The non-posted Directors will also retire on their former lower grades and go home with lower retirement benefits. This amounts to cheating and it must stop”, he disclosed.
As a result, the former NAGRAT boss said, “The delay in posting has lowered morale among the promoted-but-not-posted officers, and this is negatively affecting their performance”.
Solutions
In view of the situation, Mr. Alorvi suggested that the Minister of Education should direct all GES directors who have attained their retirement age but still at post.= to hand over immediately.
“The Hon. Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum should take immediate steps to direct all those retired Directors at the GES Headquarters, Regional and MM&D Directorates to hand over without any further delay. This will flush out the choked system and allow qualified officials to rise through the professional and administrative ladder”, he said.
He indicated that, “The Teacher Unions- NAGRAT, GNAT, CCT, CHASS, CODE, COHBS– should take special interest in this matter and push for remedy. The welfare of every single member of our unions must be of paramount interest to leadership. The individual teachers involved cannot stand up to this injustice because they will be victimized by the GES Management if they try to do so. Strong leaders stand for themselves, but stronger leaders stand for everyone else. It is late, but there is never a wrong time to do the right thing. The time to stand up for these affected teachers is now”.Alorvi stressed.
Profile Lawyer Anthony Boateng
Born on 16th August 1960 at Effiduasi-Ashanti. Both parents are deceased. Had elementary (now Basic) Education at EffiduSi-Ashanti. After his Ordinary and Advanced Level education, he graduated as a professional teacher and taught for some time.
He later joined the National Commission for Civic Education as a Research Officer on secondment from the Ghana Education Service. On expiration of the secondment he reverted to the GES and served in various capacities until his current appointment as; Assistant Secretary at the GES Council Deputy Secretary, GES Council, Ag. Secretary, GES Council, Head of the Legal Unit of GES, Director for HRMD and Director for Special Education.
He is a senior Member of the Ghana Bar Association and belong to several professional bodies both locally and internationally. It might be important to add that he has served as Ag. Executive Secretary of the National Teaching Council and among his current schedules is that he is the Chairman of the National Steering Committee on the Implementation of Inclusive Education in Ghana.
More To Come…
Source: Anchorghana
