Graduates with disabilities give gov’t one-week ultimatum over GES jobs
The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities has issued the government a one-week deadline to recruit qualified persons with disabilities who applied in the recent Ghana Education Service (GES) recruitment exercise.
The group warned that failure to address their concerns within the stipulated period would lead to an indefinite but peaceful occupation of Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance and the headquarters of the GES.
In a statement signed by its Convener, Gilbert Boateng Agyare, the coalition accused the Ministry of Education and the GES of disregarding the government’s commitment to reserving at least five per cent of public sector employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
According to the group, it submitted a verified list of 200 qualified graduates with disabilities for consideration during the recruitment process, but none was selected.
The coalition said the development undermines the government’s affirmative action policy, arguing that with approximately 7,000 teachers recruited, about 350 positions should have gone to qualified persons with disabilities if the proposed five per cent quota had been applied.
It described the situation as “systemic discrimination and institutional neglect,” stressing that numerous qualified graduates with disabilities have remained unemployed for years despite possessing the required qualifications.
The group also criticised Parliament, alleging that both the Majority and Minority caucuses, together with the Speaker’s Office, had failed to take action on petitions submitted over the employment challenges facing graduates with disabilities.
It maintained that the failure to employ qualified persons with disabilities violates provisions of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), as well as Ghana’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The coalition further cited President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge at the launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy to establish a five per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities across the public sector.
It is therefore calling on the President to remove the Minister for Education and the Director-General of the GES over what it described as their failure to implement the directive.
The coalition is also demanding that the GES issue appointment letters to qualified applicants with disabilities and that the Ministry of Finance provide financial clearance to facilitate their recruitment into other public institutions.
The group warned that if the government fails to provide a concrete written response within one week, its members from all 16 regions will travel to Accra to begin an indefinite peaceful occupation of Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance and the GES headquarters.
The occupation, it said, will continue until its demands are addressed.
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