Some aggrieved members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) in the Volta Region have described the '1 teacher, 1 laptop' initiative as fraudulent.

According to them, the initiative is a well-orchestrated fraudulent deal to rob the poor teacher of their minimal income.

They have, therefore, requested that all monies deductions made from their Professional Development Allowance and their Tier 2 money to pre-finance the initiative be refunded.

The teacher wondered why their leaders of the various associations didn't inform them about the negotiations and went agreed terms with the government and even award contracts, without their consent.

Addressing the press in Ho, Convenor of the Aggrieved Teachers, Mathias Tulasi, questioned the track record of K.A. Technologies, the firm awarded a contract to supply “The Teachers Mate” laptops.

“The laptops must be of good brands that will last for a minimum of ten years. Like Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba, etc. Surprisingly, K.A. Technologies has no such track record in that field. So the name is strange to our ears”, he stressed.

He questioned the credibility of the company, which they alleged was registered in November 2020.

He also requested leaders of the teacher unions to disclose the identity of the owners of the company since they have been linked to the ‘hastily established K.A. Technologies’.

Mr. Tulasi said that the inconsistent figures on the cost of the laptops being circulated “raises serious issues of suspicion adding that “it is now obvious the deal was just for chop-chop”.

He decried the decision to deduct money from the teacher's Professional Development Allowance to procure the laptops. He detailed that allowance was originally meant for organizing workshops, publications among others to build points for the renewal of license, promotion, etc.

He, therefore, questioned how points would be accrued and located to each teacher and what funds would be used to organize workshops and capacity-building programs.

“In short, deducting the laptop money from the Professional Development Allowance is an act of Criminality.”

He also expressed dismay at the gate in executing the initiative without due diligence insisting the government details a time frame to pay 70% of the total cost of the 280,000 laptops, with each costed at about ¢1,550.

He also described as disturbing the use of their tier 2 money to pre-finance the deal and called for the resignation of the Volta Regional GNAT Council members.

Mr Tulasi expressed disgust at the response of the teacher unions leaders on the unapproved use of the Professional Development Allowance.

“We will like to ask if the Professional Development Allowance was meant for the purchase of laptops? Is the pension money meant to be illegally used for financing companies? He [Angel Carbonu] should give us a break. He has become a hypocrite as a result of greed”, he questioned.

The aggrieved teachers proposed that their Professional Development Allowance should be paid monthly starting from January 2022.

“Madam Philippa, Mr. Thomas Musah, Mr. Angel Carbonu, and King Ali are the cause of our woes as teachers. Therefore, we call on all teachers across the country to join the fight against our Union leaders as we can't for what is due us”, he concluded.