Akufo Addo Promises To Address Concerns Raised Against One Teacher One Laptop Policy

President Nana Akufo Addo has promised to address all outstanding issues surrounding the 1 Teacher 1 Laptop initiative. Some teacher unions and stakeholders in the country’s education sector have raised concerns about the initiative, which will provide laptops to teachers in in Ghana on a cost sharing basis. Speaking at the Sixth

Quadrennial and 53rd National Delegates Conference of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the President assured that concerns on the initiative will be resolved. I am glad to hear how much you welcomed the supply of the laptops. I promise you that the other related matters of concern will also be addressed. The

relationship between GNAT and my government is a matter of concern to me, and I will do my very best to promote such a relationship. Government facilitated the acquisition of 280,000 laptops for the members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT),

and the Coalition of the Concerned Teachers (CCT) this year. Teachers will be expected to bear 30 percent of the cost, while the government pays 70 percent for the laptops that will be provided by KA Technologies. There has, however, also been some opposition from some teachers including GNAT members criticising the cost

sharing module in the policy and a lack of transparency. They are also worried that the policy could mirror the failed RLG partnership to supply laptops to Ghanaians schools. From the onset, the Ghana Education Service has said it has been working closely with the unions as far as the initiative is concerned too. The GES said each

teacher is to sign an acknowledgement form stating all personal particulars and also authorizing the deduction of the amount from their allowances. But the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has also applauded government’s decision to provide teachers with laptops.