The Greater Accra Regional Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Amorse Blessing Amos, has criticised the decision by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to charge applicants GH¢25 to check their teacher recruitment status, describing the practice as unacceptable, insensitive and exploitative.
In a post sighted on Facebook on Saturday, Mr. Amos questioned the rationale behind charging unemployed teacher trainees to verify whether they had secured employment, arguing that the policy places an unnecessary financial burden on young graduates seeking to serve the country.
He said the sale of the vouchers was inconsistent with President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to prioritising the welfare and empowerment of Ghana’s youth.
“The sale of voucher to check employment status is unacceptable, insensitive and does not align with President John Mahama’s vision to put the youth of this country first at the core of his governance,” he stated.
Mr. Amos appealed to the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, and the Minister for Youth Empowerment, George Opare Addo, popularly known as Pablo, to intervene and halt the sale of the vouchers.
He further called on the authorities to refund all applicants who had already paid the GH¢25 fee to access their recruitment results.
According to him, requiring unemployed graduates to pay to determine whether they had been recruited subjects them to avoidable emotional and financial hardship.
“The psychological trauma of spending the little you have to buy a voucher only to be told your application is unsuccessful is draining and unbearable,” he said.
Mr. Amos maintained that checking an applicant’s recruitment status should be free of charge, insisting that the process should not become a revenue-generating avenue at the expense of unemployed young people.
“It defies every logic and common sense to ask someone who is unemployed to pay money to know whether he or she will be employed or not,” he argued.
He further contended that if the Ghana Education Service intended to generate internally generated funds (IGF), it should not do so by imposing charges on vulnerable unemployed graduates.
The NDC Greater Accra Regional Youth Organiser concluded by renewing his appeal to the Education Minister and the Youth Empowerment Minister to intervene immediately, halt the sale of the vouchers, and ensure that applicants who have already paid the GH¢25 fee are refunded.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
