Private school teachers threaten to boycott the election over taxes

The leadership of the National Council of Private Teachers citing high taxes and numerous challenges facing the country’s education sector has threatened to boycott the 2024 general elections scheduled for December 7, 2024.
In an interview with Citi News, the Executive Director of the Private Teachers Council, James Kwame Ackon said the government’s failure to incorporate private schools in STEM education initiatives is also a reason for their proposed boycott.
“What we are saying is that there are many taxes in private schools to the extent that private school owners cannot even pay their teachers or workers well. Another thing is that we have many graduates who completed university and are unemployed
Look at the amount of money they pay from level 100 to level 400 and at the end of the day, they will be compelled to sit for licensure examination, pay 550 together with indexes, and expect us to vote for them to come into power.
What benefits are we going to get from voting? When I am a graduate with my certificate, my license, my national service, and I am not employed,” the Teachers Council Director said in the interview monitored by Pretertiary.com.
Relatedly, the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has outlined some demands it wants the main political parties in the country to treat as urgent to get their votes in the upcoming December 2024 election.
The Ghana Private Schools Association says the educational demands form part of efforts to transform education and push for policies that directly address the issues faced by private education institutions in the country.
1. Scrap the 30% priority placement system: The Private School Association is pushing for a fairer system that ensures equal opportunities for all students. The current 30% placement priority gives students in public schools an advantage over their private colleagues.
2. Government absorption of BECE and WASSCE fees: Just as done in the public sector, the Ghana Private Schools Association has called for government support in covering fees of both international and national examinations
3. Free SHS for private school students: The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) wants the government to include private school students in the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme.
4. Reducing Regulatory Charges: GNAPS has demanded a thorough review of education regulatory bodies to cut down on unnecessary fees.
5. Support for low-fee private schools: The leadership of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has demanded that the central government support low-fee-paying private schools in the country.
6. Abolishing nuisance taxes: As part of an effort to ease and remove unnecessary financial burdens. The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has called for the government to abolish nuisance taxes on their business.