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12th April, 2010
Bannerman-Mensah’s Removal or Otherwise – Some Reflections
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah has been asked to proceed on leave, in a manner that seems like his removal from office, but the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, in an interview with CITI Breakfast Show recently denied that he has been fired.
Someone proceeding on leave should not have been “news” at all, because the GES D-G is not the first highly placed personality to be asked to take his leave. Perhaps what makes it “news” is that, trend is unfolding in Ghana where topmost personalities “proceed on leave” happens to be a polite way of saying, “you have been sacked.”
We do not think that is exactly the case with Mr Bannerman-Mensah, because since the inception of the GES, no Director-General has been asked to proceed on leave, when the Officer in question had not applied for leave and has also not finished with at least his or her first term of office.
Although some stakeholders in education have learnt with utter dismay and disquiet the purported “removal” or otherwise of the GES-D-G, the assurance by the Minister that GES-D-G has taken his accumulated leave, which perhaps is normal, has made some stakeholders, especially, The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary School’s (CHASS) and Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) keep their fingers crossed and are closely monitoring the situation.
The GNAT in a statement issued by its president, Mr Paul Apanga (as reported in the Ghanaian Times of Tuesday, April 6, 2010) criticized the Minister for assuming the responsibility of transferring district, municipal and regional directors of education, a function that was the preserve of the Director-General of GES, GNAT further described the action of the Minister” as a recipe for confusion in the GES.”
We hope GNAT will be a bit soft on the Minister as he finds answers to some of his actions of late. Time will also tell whether Mr Bannerman-Mensah has been sacked or only taken his leave.
The appointment of Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah as the Director-General of the GES was done by President J.A. Kufuor on January 15, 2007. Until his appointment, he was one of the Deputy D-G’s of the GES.
The appointment of the D-G of the GES or Chief Executive Officer of GES is the responsibility of the GES Council which invites applications from suitably qualified Ghanaians, shortlisting the applicants and conducting interviews for selection.
It should be noted though that, it is the President of the Republic who gives the nod to the appointment of the D-G. the President acts on the advice of the GES Council and in consultation with the Public Services.
What makes the case of the current D-G a bit unclear is that GES has had eleven D-Gs (some were in acting capacity though) yet none of them was asked either by the Council or the Ministry of Education to proceed on accumulated leave. That is why it will be prudent for the Council or the Ministry to throw more light on the current D-G leave when he had not applied for one.
For the records, the first D-G of GES was Prof. Nicholas Owusu Anim who was then the Dean of the faculty of Education at the University of Cape Coast. After him came Mr. P.A. Owiredu who died while on the job. The next was Prof. S. Djanagmah of the University of Ghana. Coming after him was Prof. C Lokko who was then at the school of Administration, University of Ghana. And then it was the turn of Alhaji Rahimu Gbadamoshie who was the Director for Manpower.
Mr. S.K. Obeng who was the next was in acting position. He was also Director of Manpower until his appointment as Acting Director-General. Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, a Deputy Director-General, was the next Director-General in acting position. The next acting Director-Generall was Mr John Budu-Smith. And then Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi as Director General.
The next was Rev. Ama Afo Blay whose period of interview and her subsequent appointment as Director-General took almost two years, thereby not getting the opportunity for a full four-year term. Her delayed appointment could be attributed partly to the reconstitution of the GES Council at the time which saw Prof. Abena Dolphyne as the Council’s Chairperson.
Rev Ama Afo Blay handed over to Mr Michael Kenneth Nsowah, a Deputy Director-General who became Acting Director-General; a position he held until the appointment of Mr Samuel Bannermen-Mensah, who was also a Deputy Director-General.
He took over as Director-General at a time when the challenges facing the GES were numerous. They included the 2007 SHS take off, getting the Training Colleges to become tertiary institutions and the duration of SHS which has a almost become a political issue in our educational history.
We hope the GES boss will serve his accumulated leave and assume his duty until at least he finishes his first term of office which expires on January 14, 2011.
The writer is Headmaster, Okuapemman School, Akropong-Akuapem.
Someone proceeding on leave should not have been “news” at all, because the GES D-G is not the first highly placed personality to be asked to take his leave. Perhaps what makes it “news” is that, trend is unfolding in Ghana where topmost personalities “proceed on leave” happens to be a polite way of saying, “you have been sacked.”
We do not think that is exactly the case with Mr Bannerman-Mensah, because since the inception of the GES, no Director-General has been asked to proceed on leave, when the Officer in question had not applied for leave and has also not finished with at least his or her first term of office.
Although some stakeholders in education have learnt with utter dismay and disquiet the purported “removal” or otherwise of the GES-D-G, the assurance by the Minister that GES-D-G has taken his accumulated leave, which perhaps is normal, has made some stakeholders, especially, The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary School’s (CHASS) and Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) keep their fingers crossed and are closely monitoring the situation.
The GNAT in a statement issued by its president, Mr Paul Apanga (as reported in the Ghanaian Times of Tuesday, April 6, 2010) criticized the Minister for assuming the responsibility of transferring district, municipal and regional directors of education, a function that was the preserve of the Director-General of GES, GNAT further described the action of the Minister” as a recipe for confusion in the GES.”
We hope GNAT will be a bit soft on the Minister as he finds answers to some of his actions of late. Time will also tell whether Mr Bannerman-Mensah has been sacked or only taken his leave.
The appointment of Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah as the Director-General of the GES was done by President J.A. Kufuor on January 15, 2007. Until his appointment, he was one of the Deputy D-G’s of the GES.
The appointment of the D-G of the GES or Chief Executive Officer of GES is the responsibility of the GES Council which invites applications from suitably qualified Ghanaians, shortlisting the applicants and conducting interviews for selection.
It should be noted though that, it is the President of the Republic who gives the nod to the appointment of the D-G. the President acts on the advice of the GES Council and in consultation with the Public Services.
What makes the case of the current D-G a bit unclear is that GES has had eleven D-Gs (some were in acting capacity though) yet none of them was asked either by the Council or the Ministry of Education to proceed on accumulated leave. That is why it will be prudent for the Council or the Ministry to throw more light on the current D-G leave when he had not applied for one.
For the records, the first D-G of GES was Prof. Nicholas Owusu Anim who was then the Dean of the faculty of Education at the University of Cape Coast. After him came Mr. P.A. Owiredu who died while on the job. The next was Prof. S. Djanagmah of the University of Ghana. Coming after him was Prof. C Lokko who was then at the school of Administration, University of Ghana. And then it was the turn of Alhaji Rahimu Gbadamoshie who was the Director for Manpower.
Mr. S.K. Obeng who was the next was in acting position. He was also Director of Manpower until his appointment as Acting Director-General. Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, a Deputy Director-General, was the next Director-General in acting position. The next acting Director-Generall was Mr John Budu-Smith. And then Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi as Director General.
The next was Rev. Ama Afo Blay whose period of interview and her subsequent appointment as Director-General took almost two years, thereby not getting the opportunity for a full four-year term. Her delayed appointment could be attributed partly to the reconstitution of the GES Council at the time which saw Prof. Abena Dolphyne as the Council’s Chairperson.
Rev Ama Afo Blay handed over to Mr Michael Kenneth Nsowah, a Deputy Director-General who became Acting Director-General; a position he held until the appointment of Mr Samuel Bannermen-Mensah, who was also a Deputy Director-General.
He took over as Director-General at a time when the challenges facing the GES were numerous. They included the 2007 SHS take off, getting the Training Colleges to become tertiary institutions and the duration of SHS which has a almost become a political issue in our educational history.
We hope the GES boss will serve his accumulated leave and assume his duty until at least he finishes his first term of office which expires on January 14, 2011.
The writer is Headmaster, Okuapemman School, Akropong-Akuapem.
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