Teacher unions demand apology from Interior Minister over WASSCE remarks
The three major teacher unions in Ghana have condemned comments allegedly made by the Minister of the Interior and Member of Parliament for Asawase, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, regarding the alleged use of forged West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results by security service recruits.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Education Teachers’ Association (PRETAG) have demanded that the Minister retract the comments and apologise to teachers.
In a joint statement dated September 10, 2026, the unions said their attention had been drawn to comments attributed to Mr Muntaka during a ceremony to open classroom facilities at Asokore Mampong Roman Catholic School in the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, September 9.
According to the unions, the Minister, while announcing the dismissal and blacklisting of security service recruits who allegedly used forged or doctored WASSCE results, suggested that such falsification should have occurred within the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the teaching profession rather than the security services.
The unions described the reported comments as offensive, misguided and derogatory, arguing that they unfairly cast aspersions on teachers and the education sector.
They said they were particularly concerned that the comments could be interpreted as implicating the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, the Director-General of the GES and the Vice President, who they noted is a professional teacher and a former Education Minister.
The unions stressed that teachers were not opposed to legitimate criticism but said they would resist statements they believed insulted or ridiculed the profession.
“We won’t accept any repugnant and offensive expressions on our persons as teachers and our profession,” the unions said.
They also rejected what they described as attempts to make teachers “scapegoats or guinea pigs” by government officials.
The unions explained that recruitment into the Education Service involved several qualification and verification requirements, including relevant educational qualifications, completion of national service and possession of a valid National Teaching Council teaching licence.
Applicants, they said, were also required to submit copies of academic certificates, national service certificates, teaching licences, Ghana Cards, passport photographs and contact details.
According to the unions, these records are subjected to checks and audits at the institutions that awarded the certificates.
They therefore questioned the basis for attributing the alleged use of forged WASSCE certificates to the GES and teachers.
The unions further invoked Article 41 of the 1992 Constitution, which they said enjoins Ghanaians to be each other’s keeper, while stressing that teachers’ restraint should not be interpreted as weakness.
They called for greater respect for teachers and the teaching profession, declaring: “Teachers should be celebrated and not denigrated.”
The three unions said they were fed up with what they termed “scapegoating and blame games” involving teachers and urged Mr Muntaka to “do the needful” by retracting his alleged comments and apologising to teachers.
