Hopeson Adorye of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said that teachers who have rejected the laptops procured by the government to enhance teaching and learning in schools are members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service (GES), launched the One Teacher One Laptop initiative to distribute a total of 350,000 laptops to all Ghanaian teachers teaching in Pre-tertiary institutions (From Kindergarten to Senior High Schools).
The cost of one of the laptops labelled Teacher Mate 1 (TM1) is GHS1,550.00 The government has absorbed Ghs1,085.00 representing 70% of the cost whiles the teacher are to pay GHS465, which represents 30%.
However, some teachers had raised concerns about the properties and specifications of the Government’s branded teachers laptops, saying it’s below standard. They had also protested the deduction of their monthly salaries to pay off the laptops.
Speaking at a press conference, Hopeson Adorye questioned the aggrieved teachers on whether they can get the supposed “sub-standard” laptops on the open market for GHC 1,500.
“We need to hold the Teachers Associations responsible in this matter. If we have done this then you are a teacher but a member of the NDC so you will continue to cause trouble, that is your problem. If you say what government has done for you is not good but rather you’ll want to work for the NDC and say the laptops we brought are not of good quality that is your problem.
“If you are an NDC teacher and you think that the laptops given to you are not the best and that you don’t like them send them back to where you took them from so that you start preparing your lesson notes in books and let’s see which of them is the best. Which laptop can you get in the open market for GHC 1,500? How much are even toys on the open market?”
He stated that they should rather be grateful that the government has them at heart thus the provision of the laptops to ensure they are not left out of the digital transformation agenda.
Hopeson Adorye added that any teacher who is not content with the laptop distributed to them can return it and go to sleep.
