The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities has issued a one-week ultimatum to the government to recruit qualified persons with disabilities who applied during the recent Ghana  Education Service (GES) recruitment exercise or face an indefinite peaceful occupation of Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance and the GES headquarters.

In a statement signed by Gilbert Boateng Agyare, the Group Convener, the coalition accused the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service of disregarding the government’s commitment to reserve at least five per cent of public sector jobs for persons with disabilities.

According to the group, although it submitted a verified list of 200 qualified graduates with disabilities for consideration during the recent GES recruitment exercise, none of them was employed.

The coalition argued that the outcome contravened the government’s affirmative action policy, noting that with about 7,000 teachers recruited, at least 350 positions should have gone to qualified persons with disabilities under the proposed five per cent quota.

“Despite explicit assurances from the Ministry of Education and the leadership of the GES that the government’s affirmative action directive mandating a minimum 5% recruitment quota for Persons with Disabilities in all public sector postings would be strictly implemented, the grim reality is that not a single member from our submitted list was recruited,” the statement said.

Describing the outcome as “systemic discrimination and institutional neglect,” the coalition said many graduates with disabilities have remained unemployed for years despite possessing the requisite qualifications.

The group also criticised Parliament, accusing both the Majority and Minority caucuses, as well as the Speaker’s Office, of failing to act on petitions previously submitted on the employment challenges facing graduates with disabilities.

It further argued that the failure to recruit persons with disabilities violates both Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) and the country’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The coalition recalled President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge at the launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy to implement a five per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities across public sector recruitment.

It has therefore called on the President to remove the Minister for Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, accusing them of failing to implement the presidential directive.

The coalition also urged the GES to immediately issue appointment letters to its members whose names were submitted for consideration and called on the President to direct the Ministry of Finance to grant financial clearance for qualified graduates with disabilities to be recruited into other public institutions, including the Civil Service, Local Government Service and the Ghana Revenue Authority.

The group warned that if government fails to provide a concrete written response within one week, its members from all 16 regions will converge in Accra to begin an indefinite peaceful occupation of Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Education Service headquarters until their demands are addressed.