The Ashanti Region chapter of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) says it has arranged for some teachers to take care of children who report for school amidst their strike.

 GNAT, joined two other teacher associations, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH) to withdraw their services, effective December 9, over unpaid salary arrears.

The three Unions in a joint statement on Thursday directed all members to stay out of classrooms to protest “sufferings” endured “as a result of the negligence” of government.

Checks in schools across the country on the second day of the industrial action revealed that, pupils at the basic school level were still reporting for classes.

Speaking to Joy News, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of GNAT, Pater Boateng said members will not stop pupils from going to school since school managers and staff are available to supervise them.

“There hasn’t been a total strike ever on earth. No strike has ever been total. Take a look at the medical sector. Medical doctors can go on strike and say they will not receive new cases but patients on admission will be taken care of. So we are also in the same category because we are in the service industry.

“We have said we are not going to school but we have headteachers who are managers and the Labour Act makes it clear that when you fall within the managerial task, you cannot do so because you have been entrusted with certain properties.

“You have to go and ensure that they are in good condition. Our issue is that when we are on strike there is a probability that our demands will be met, so negotiations are still going on. While we do all these a skeletal staff will be at the workplace to ensure that there is no destruction to the properties over there,” Boateng explained.

Meanwhile, some students who spoke to JoyNews pleaded with their teachers to return to the classroom.