By Mariam Williams
The Interim Executive Committee of the Gambia Teachers Union (GTU) Young Teachers Platform, said it has “learned with keen interest circulating rumour and social media comments associating the group as to being created to suppress and rival the activities of other groups, most notably the Teachers For Change”.
According to a statement from the Platform’s Information and Communication Office, “The committee wishes to dispel this rumour and comments as false and baseless. In fact, the Young Teachers Platform is created to compliment the efforts and activities of teacher groups most especially the young teachers who form the bulk of the teaching profession.
“The creation of the platform is in fulfilment of a constitutional provision of the Gambia Teachers Union, which is the umbrella body of Gambian Teachers. It is totally unfounded and malicious for any individual or group to associate the Young Teachers Platform with the objective to silence other groups.”
The release indicated that the interim executive committee has, among its wider plans, to meet all teacher associations in the country including the Education Students Association of the University of The Gambia (UTG), the Education Students Association of the Gambia College, as well as executive members of the Task Force of the Teachers For Change. These meetings, the Teachers Platform disclosed, are geared towards sourcing common views and grounds for the betterment of the teaching fraternity.
Responding to the “many” people who questioned the selection of the interim executive committee, the GTU Young Teachers Platform argued that the selection was done by NEC of the GTU through wider consultations with regional Chairpersons.
“It is important to note; the committee is serving on an Interim base. Thus, the Interim Committee is to shape the Conceptual Framework by positioning Young Teachers properly in the structures of the Union and lead us to the First Annual Young Teachers Convergence.
“At this General Assembly, the New and First Executive of the Young Teachers Platform will be formed, a bye law for Young Teachers be developed and ratified which will establish the structures and inform policy.
“The platform will help empower Young Teachers to take ownership and leadership of the Union,” the young teachers body explained.
As indicated in the issued statement, the Platform, among other things, would help empower young teachers to influence policy both at the Gambia Teachers Union and at government level.
It continued: “This will accord young teachers the opportunity to be heard and listened to because as a Constitutional pronouncement, NEC and the Secretariat has a duty to support and respond appropriately to the demands of this Constituent Assembly.
“The Interim Committee wishes to unequivocally reiterate that; the existence of the platform is to fundamentally lay the foundation for a smooth transition. In that regard, the committee calls on all young teachers to embrace the platform and be ready to take charge of the affairs of teachers in the country.”
The release concluded with the assurances that, “In the interest of young teachers and the teaching fraternity, we remain…”
Picture copied from GTU Young Teachers Facebook Page: Follow link https://www.facebook.com/102047687888696/photos/a.102047741222024/102048544555277/?type=1&theater
