The Ghana Education Service (GES), has asked the Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT, to stay away from issues of subsidies between the Service and Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools, (CHASS).

CHASS held a press conference earlier this week where they threatened to close down public Senior High Schools nationwide for the 2016/2017 academic year if the government did not pay subsidy arrears owed them.

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Subsequently, the GES held a press conference where it accused some heads of schools of delaying the process by submitting required data on students late.

But GNAT also joined in the fray and suggested they might embark on a nationwide strike in September 2016, if the GES does not pay the arrears owed CHASS.

Public Relations Officer of the GES Rev Jonathan Bettey in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said this issue has to with CHASS and not other teacher unions.

“I don’t know where they are coming from saying that they will go on strike if we don’t solve the issues of CHASS. NAGRAT, GNAT, any other teacher unions are not part of CHASS. If they are members, they are not standing in as CHASS. What we are telling GNAT is that they are teachers; we are solving the issues for CHASS members.”

“The Ghana Education Service has nothing to do with GNAT, NAGRAT or any teacher union as far as subventions, capitation grant, progressively free education; all the concerns that were raised by CHASS. GNAT has nothing to do with this” he added.

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He also revealed that GES had begun meeting with the appropriate stakeholders to solve the issues at hand.

He said “the GES Director General is dealing with the management and executives of CHASS. We have received their concerns and are addressing them, and we are expecting that in no time all they have raised will be answered. The government is aware of what is going on. Management of the Ministry of Education, as well as the Ghana Education Service, is aware of what their concerns are. We will solve their issues, and the issue is between the Director General and CHASS.”