Concerned members of the National Association of Institutional Suppliers (NAIS), a group of suppliers who provide essential services to educational institutions across Ghana, have revealed plans to picket the Ministry of Education.

The picketing is to happen on February 26, 2024, over the Ministry’s failure to pay arrears owed members of NAIS for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 academic years.

The association, which supplies school uniforms, house dresses, and assorted items to all public Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country, has been facing severe financial constraints due to the Ministry of Education’s failure to settle its outstanding payments.

Many suppliers have resorted to securing bank loans to fulfill their contractual commitments, leading to mounting pressures from financial institutions and compounding interests, according to the association.

Speaking in an interview with Class News, the Public Relations Officer of NAIS, Emmanuel Ayivor, expressed frustration over the lack of response from the Ministry of Education and revealed the association’s plan to protest at the Ministry of Education until their demands are met.

“If we don’t hear anything from the government after the 14-day ultimatum,” he noted, “we will picket, and we are proposing to picket on February 26, which is the last Monday of the month.”

“We will sit there until they pay us. We will converge at the Makola Market and let the mothers know that the government is refusing to pay us for the uniforms that their children are wearing” he warned, bemoaning: “What the government is doing is collapsing our business.”