Tensions are reaching a boiling point in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality as pre-tertiary teachers prepare to down tools following the alleged assault of three educators by armed military personnel and what union leaders call the shocking indifference of local education officials.
During a high stakes press conference on Monday May 25, 2026, the leadership of the three major teacher unions (GNAT, NAGRAT, and PRETAG) in the Western Region announced that their Monday, May 25 deadline for justice has officially expired with zero response from the Ghana Education Service (GES) or the Security Service.
As a result, starting tomorrow, teachers are launching a multi-phase strike that promises to paralyze education in the municipality.
The crisis began earlier this month when three teachers from the Adiewoso M/A Basic School, along with the husband of a female teacher, were reportedly assaulted by armed military men. The victims have been nursing physical wounds and undergoing psychological healing, according to union leaders.
While the public awaited official action, the unions say no support has been received.
In a dramatic twist, the unions publicly rebuked the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Director of the GES, Madam Catherine Andoh-Mensah, for her handling of the crisis.
According to the press statement, the Director visited the school on Tuesday, May 5 the same day as the assault but failed to advise the teachers to file a police report, obtain medical forms, or seek immediate hospital care.
The situation worsened five days later. When Madam Andoh-Mensah returned to find the affected teachers absent (still recovering at home), she allegedly:
· Lambasted them over the phone for not being at their posts.
· Logged an official entry in the school’s logbook noting their absence.
· Expressed particular annoyance that the female teacher was not at school while her injured husband convalesced at home.
“If this incident had happened to the husband of the Municipal Director, would she have stayed at post leaving her husband alone at home to nurse his wounds?” the unions asked in a pointed statement. “We are very upset.”
The unions further argued that because the school environment was still unsafe, the Director should have temporarily closed the school and moved staff to secure shelter. Instead, they claim she did nothing.
The teachers had given authorities until today, May 25, to respond. With no communication from either the GES or the military, the unions declared patience exhausted.
“No authority has responded to our demands,” a union spokesperson confirmed to reporters today.
Effective tomorrow, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the unions have ordered all teachers in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality to take the following actions:
Phase 1 (May 26 – May 31):
· Wear red bands to school (a traditional symbol of distress and mourning).
· Embark on a sit-down strike (teachers will report to school but not teach).
· If demands are still not met by Monday, June 1, teachers will begin a total, indefinite strike, shutting down all academic work in the municipality.
Union leaders made an emotional appeal to all teachers in the district to comply with the directive, rallying under the powerful slogan:
“We humbly call on all teachers in the municipality to comply with this directive to help get justice for the affected colleagues,” the statement read. “Let us unite.”
With no official word yet from the GES headquarters or the Ministry of Defence, all eyes are on Tarkwa-Nsuaem. Tomorrow morning, red bands will likely be a common sight at schools and classrooms, silent.
By Ebenezer Atiemo
