GES Job Snub Sparks Ultimatum From Graduates With Disabilities

The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities has issued a one-week ultimatum to the government to employ qualified members who were left out of the recent Ghana Education Service (GES) recruitment exercise, warning that failure to act will trigger an indefinite peaceful occupation of the Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance and the GES headquarters. In a statement scheduled for release on Monday, August 3, the coalition accused the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service of failing to honour the government’s commitment to reserve five per cent of public sector jobs for persons with disabilities.

According to the coalition, it submitted a verified list of 200 qualified graduates with disabilities, holding diplomas and degrees in education and humanities, for consideration during the recruitment exercise in which approximately 7,000 teachers were employed. However, it alleged that none of its listed applicants received appointments despite earlier assurances that the disability employment quota would be implemented. The statement, signed by the coalition’s Convener, Gilbert Boateng Agyare, said members had suspended previous protests in good faith after receiving assurances that unemployed graduates with disabilities would be progressively absorbed into the public sector. “We suspended our earlier protests in good faith after government officials assured us that unemployed graduates with disabilities would be systematically absorbed into the public workforce. Instead, we have been systematically deceived,” the statement said.

The coalition argued that if the promised five per cent quota had been applied to the recruitment of about 7,000 teachers, at least 350 positions should have been allocated to qualified persons with disabilities. It described the alleged failure to recruit any of its members as “a calculated act of systemic discrimination and institutional neglect.” 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 submitted over unemployment among graduates with disabilities. It said Parliament had not effectively exercised its oversight responsibility to ensure compliance with laws and policies designed to promote employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

The coalition further maintained that the alleged exclusion contravenes Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), as well as international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Sustainable Development Goals and International Labour Organization standards. It also cited President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge during the launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy, where he announced plans to enforce a five per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities in both the public and private sectors.

Insisting that its members have remained unemployed despite obtaining tertiary qualifications, the coalition stressed that its demand was based on equal employment rights rather than charity. “We are not asking for charity; we are demanding our right to work. We have been educated for the shelf for too long,” the statement added. Among its demands, the coalition called on President Mahama to facilitate the immediate employment of qualified graduates with disabilities into the Ghana Education Service. It also urged the President to dismiss the Minister for Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service over what it described as their failure to implement the employment quota policy.

Additionally, the group appealed for financial clearance to enable the recruitment of qualified graduates with disabilities into other public institutions, including the Local Government Service, Civil Service and the Ghana Revenue Authority. The coalition warned that unless it receives official written commitments addressing its demands within one week, members from all 16 regions will converge in Accra to begin an indefinite peaceful occupation of the Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Education Service headquarters. It also appealed to the media to continue highlighting what it described as the systemic discrimination faced by graduates with disabilities and to provide platforms for advocacy.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Ministry of Education nor the Ghana Education Service had publicly responded to the coalition’s allegations.

Source: Myjoyonline
Author: Joyce Owusu