The National Council of Parent-Teacher Association (NCPTA) has expressed worry over the ongoing pre-tertiary teachers’ unions strike.

In a press statement addressing their concerns, the NCPTA noted that the inconclusive end to the government-teacher unions’ meetings on the 5^th and 8^th of July could signal a protracted process “if leadership is not shown by all stakeholders.”

According to the NCPTA, following the strike, contact hours for learning have reduced generally.

“Final year students of public Junior High Schools (JHS) and Senior High Schools (SHS) may not complete their syllabi before their respective WAEC examinations. The finalists’ situation could worsen since their batch was severely affected by the COVID-19 restrictions,” it stated.

Due to the lack of supervision in schools as a result of the strike, “some of the little ones have begun hurting themselves at school” and “feeding in the boarding schools has become a huge challenge if not in crisis” due to union members being prevented from providing food to students.

While the NCPTA agrees that the demand for a 20% cost-of-living-allowance is justified and legitimate, taking into consideration the high cost of living and the dire economic situation, “parents are appealing to our noble teachers to consider their students’ plight especially the final years and the nation's economic situation and meet Government half way for speedy resolution of the matter.”

“We know of the difficulty on the part of Government, but there is always a middle way out of such situations and therefore, we urge Government to treat the resolution of the Unions’ demand and subsequent strike as an emergency situation,” it said.

The NCPTA called on the government to “leave no stone unturned to exploit the middle way out in order to deal expeditiously with the matter for industrial peace and harmony to return.”

“The NCPTA believes Government has the capacity and capability to resolve it and must show leadership now,” it added.

It has, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders involved to speed up negotiations for an acceptable outcome in order to mitigate the effects, both immediate and remote, on the students’ academic performance.

“In view of the above mentioned effects, particularly, the safety of the little ones and the food crisis, we are appealing to the protagonists not to drag issues for the sake of mother Ghana,” it stated.

Meanwhile, the Association is calling on the Ghana Education Service to temporarily shut down schools if the strike is going to be prolonged.