Children in some basic schools in the Ashanti Region are resorting to gambling in the absence of their striking teachers. A few schools opened briefly for academic work on Tuesday, but closed later in the day, forcing students to go home. Some pupils however did not heed the order to leave campus, but resorted to all forms of gambling in the absence of their teachers. The children who admit gambling is illegal, insist it is their last resort after their classrooms had been put under lock and key. According to Nhyira FM's Ohemeng Tawiah who visited some schools in the Metropolis, the children had engaged themselves in games like football, cards, and cycling for betting purposes. “We are gambling”, said one of the students pointing to the playing cards in front of them. Another group of four students, were playing cards on a veranda with money spread in-front of them. The strike action has taken a toll on teaching and learning;students have a field day on campus because there is no supervision. One student noted that their action is influenced by the absence of the teachers. “When we come to school and there is no teacher,then they will say we should go and play football and put money on it as a trophy. So when you win, you take the money. Yes we call it gambling. We say we are going to play chacha”, he revealed. “We are gambling because the teachers are not here. If there were teachers here, we will not gamble. So when the teacher is not here, we gamble”. Ohemeng Tawiah reports that at the Asem cluster of 17 schools, all the classrooms remained closed but some students were loitering around. Children of Abuakwa-Asonomaso D/A Primary and JHS A and B, and Abuakwa Cluster of Schools also had their schools closed. In the midst of the difficulties, some BECE candidates are uncertain about their future as mock exams have been postponed. Meanwhile, some senior high schools have had their fair share of the impact of the industrial action as their end of term exams have been postponed indefinitely because teachers are not available. Mary Kraah-Ampofo, Headmistress of the Kumasi Girls Senior High School, one of the affected schools, is deeply worried over the development. A meeting she called to plead with teachers to rescind their decision and supervise the exams was inconclusive. “It’s rather unfortunate that at this time when the students are preparing seriously for their internal exams, this has happened”, she lamented. The two giant Teacher Associations, NAGRAT and GNAT are demanding better conditions of service, payment of retention premium and correction of salary discrepancies with the Single Spine Salary Structure among others.