At the beginning of this year 2021, the Ghana Education Service hinted at distributing laptops to teachers. According to GES, it was a brilliant idea raised by the three Teacher unions, the Ghana National Association of Teachers GNAT, the National Association of Graduate Teachers NAGRAT, and the coalition of concerned teachers CCTGH.
This initiative of the teacher unions was approved by GES and the Ministry of Education and all parties involved agreed to share the cost of the laptops with teachers paying 30% and the goverment and will pay the remaining 70%.
Some teachers belonging to the Innovative Teachers union and the ATAG threatened to sue the Ghana Education Service for procurement breaches in purchasing the laptops but that did not see the light of the day. The distribution of the laptops has started of which shortcode has been generated to make distribution of the laptops very easy for teachers. Most teachers in the second-cycle institutions have received theirs while those in the Junior High Schools and primary schools are waiting to take theirs.
During the launch of the one teacher one laptop initiative teachers were told that 350,000 laptops has been procured for distribution but the management of the Ghana Education Service has recently come out that there are only 280,000 laptops that are available and will be given to teachers and the rest will get theirs later. Meanwhile, the 30% cost of the laptops Teachers are to pay will be deducted whether you have taken it or not.
According to GES, the monies deducted for the laptops will be deposited into the Ghana Education Service occupational pension scheme GESOPS to pay for the 280,000 laptops and the rest of the money will be paid to the company when the rest is made available.
For now, the date has not been revealed as to when the rest of the laptops will be made available. Most teachers have complained about the fact that GES is going to deduct their money meanwhile they have not received the laptops.
Innovative Teachers and ATAG have threatened to put an injunction in the distribution of the laptops.
