Polytechnic education is the engine of every
developing economy, Mr. Caesar Kale, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, has said.
Mr. Kale said this on Tuesday when students of the Wa Polytechnic embarked on a peaceful demonstration through the principal streets of Wa to present a petition by the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students to the President.
He said the government would not overlook any impasse capable of jeopardizing the effectiveness of Polytechnic education in the country.
He said the government was not only concerned about the salaries of Polytechnic Teachers but also committed to ensure that all other resources were provided to enhance teaching and learning in polytechnics.
Abdulai Eliasu, the President of Wa Polytechnic Students Representative Council (SRC) who read the petition, said the nationwide demonstration was aimed at pressing home the demands of the Polytechnic Teachers Association
of Ghana (POTAG) in order for them to return to the classroom.
The petition appealed to the government to show true commitment to the development of Polytechnic education by finding appropriate and lasting solutions to the legitimate demands of POTAG rather than the lip service approach.
They appealed to the President to use the same approach he used in his bid to resolve the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to
address that of POTAG.
He said the lackadaisical attitude of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission had led to many strike actions which had contributed in branding Polytechnics as places of unrest in the eyes of the public.
The petition stated that it was about time the continued neglect of Polytechnic education paved way for positive things to happen and called on the government to settle the grievances of POTAG for them to return to the classroom.
Mr. Kale commended the students for resorting to the appropriate channels to present their petition, assuring them that the government would
surely address the concerns of POTAG to enable them to return to the classroom.