A professionally trained and married teacher of the Light Academy International at the Adentan suburb of Accra has been booted out of school for getting herself pregnant.
According to furious Benedicta Kumadoh, her dismissal from school four months into her pregnancy nearly drove her to commit suicide since her husband at the time was in serious financial crisis and she was virtually the breadwinner. “I am considering dragging the authorities of the school to the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice to seek redress”, she threatened in an interview with the Heritage newspaper.
Checks revealed that she was employed in September 2007 as a primary school teacher when she was till upgrading her knowledge at the Valley View University College. She had since had cordial relations with her superiors and colleague staff members effectively combining her role as a teacher and student until she got pregnant June last year.
Ms Kumadoh claimed that as soon as she got pregnant the authorities of the school began antagonizing and having serious confrontations with her over her ability to work effectively as a teacher. Though she pleaded that a suitable time-table be prepared for her as her four months pregnancy was not having any effect on her teaching but authorities of the school rejected the plea.
After all the back-and-forth, she was finally sacked in September last year at time she had served the school for two years without any dismissal letter or salary for work done prior to her dismissal. Asked why she did not resign to take care of her pregnancy and resume work after giving birth, she contended that per the standard practice in the Ghana Education Service, she deserved a leave at a critical stage in her pregnancy and not a verbal sack.
Though attempts to reach the headship of the school failed, some staff reached condemned how their colleague was treated and cited similar incidents in the past. Others preferred to remain silent over the development.
Teacher Kumador has meanwhile charged the sector ministry to call the authorities of the school to order and pay her what is due her to prevent a recurrence of her ordeal in other private and public educational institutions in the country.
