The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities has given the government a one-week deadline to recruit qualified persons with disabilities who applied during the recent Ghana Education Service (GES) recruitment exercise, warning that failure to do so will result in an indefinite peaceful occupation of Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance, and the GES headquarters.
In a statement signed by its Convener, Gilbert Boateng Agyare, the coalition accused the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service of failing to honor the government’s commitment to reserve at least five percent of public sector jobs for persons with disabilities.
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The group said it submitted a verified list of 200 qualified graduates with disabilities for consideration during the GES recruitment process but claimed that none of them received appointments.
According to the coalition, the recruitment outcome undermines the government’s proposed affirmative action policy. It argued that with approximately 7,000 teachers recruited, at least 350 positions should have been allocated to qualified persons with disabilities under the five per cent quota.
The statement expressed disappointment that, despite assurances from the Ministry of Education and GES leadership that the quota would be implemented, none of the coalition’s submitted candidates was recruited.
Describing the situation as evidence of systemic discrimination and institutional neglect, the coalition noted that many qualified graduates with disabilities have remained unemployed for several years despite meeting all the required qualifications.
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The group also criticized Parliament, accusing both the majority and minority caucuses, as well as the Office of the Speaker, of failing to respond adequately to petitions submitted on the employment challenges affecting graduates with disabilities.
It further maintained that the exclusion of persons with disabilities from the recruitment exercise breaches Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), as well as the country’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The coalition recalled President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge during the launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy to implement a five per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities across all public sector recruitment.
It has therefore called on the President to dismiss the Minister for Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, alleging that they failed to implement the presidential directive.
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Additionally, the coalition urged the GES to immediately issue appointment letters to the qualified graduates whose names were submitted for consideration.
It also appealed to the President to direct the Ministry of Finance to grant financial clearance for the recruitment of qualified graduates with disabilities into other public institutions, including the Civil Service, Local Government Service, and the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The coalition warned that if the government does not provide a concrete written response within one week, members from all 16 regions will assemble in Accra to begin an indefinite peaceful occupation of Jubilee House, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Education Service headquarters until their demands are met.