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Teachers in public first and second-cycle schools Monday began their nationwide strike to compel the educational authorities to address their concerns. From Accra to Bolgatanga, reports indicate that while some teachers were at post, others chose to loiter on the school compound. In some second-cycle schools, teachers were seen supervising the practical examination of candidates of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Many basic schools closed and pupils were sent home. Teachers took the decision to take that action on Friday, March 15, 2013 because of the government�s failure to resolve their grievances relating to service conditions. At a rare joint press conference by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in Accra last Friday, the two unions said, �The situation has become irrevocably hopeless and the relevant authorities should take full blame for any eventuality.� Some senior high schools (SHS) in the Accra metropolis temporarily suspended the writing of the end-of-second-term examinations because teachers were on strike, writes Della Russel Ocloo. Although some schools in the metropolis engaged the services of national service persons to supervise the examinations, others temporarily called off the examinations. When the Daily Graphic visited selected schools in the metropolis, most students were seen in groups discussing the implications of the strike. At the St Thomas Aquinas SHS in Accra, the Economics, Chemistry and Christian Religious Studies (CRS) papers which were slated to be written as part of the end-of-term examination Monday were called off. The Greater Accra Regional Executive of NAGRAT, who visited the teachers as part of NAGRAT's inspection tour of the school to ensure compliance with the strike, tasked the teachers not to report to school today. The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of NAGRAT, Mr Patrick Agboyibor, told the Daily Graphic that teachers were determined to go the full haul until the government addressed their grievances. The situation was not different at the Accra Girls� SHS. However, the authorities of the school had engaged the services of national service persons who were supervising the internal exams at the time of the visit. The Assistant Headmistress, Ms Cecilia Boateng, said since the school management could not be part of the strike, there was the need to make alternative arrangements to ensure the smooth conduct of internal examination. George Ernest Asare reports from Kumasi that while teachers of second-cycle schools were seen loitering around their respective schools, their students gathered in groups to lament the predicament confronting them a few days to the WASSCE. Teachers of basic schools closed their schools and sent the pupils home. As of 11 a.m. many basic schools in the Kumasi metropolis had been closed down in response to the industrial action. When contacted the Ashanti Regional Chairman of NAGRAT, Mr Paul Stanley Essaw, said he had already visited many of the schools in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs and described the response to the strike as positive. �All our members have responded positively to the industrial action and have stayed away from the classrooms,� he said. From Cape Coast, Joe Okyere writes that teachers in the Cape Coast metropolis joined their colleagues elsewhere in a nationwide strike to demand the resolution of their grievances. Most students and pupils returned to their respective homes between 10 and 11 a.m. because teachers refused to teach them. A visit to a number of schools by the Daily Graphic revealed that most of the teachers were meeting in their staff common rooms, while the students and pupils were left alone in their classrooms. The few teachers who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had joined their colleagues in solidarity to press home their demand. It was also observed that some of the schools did not open at all and pupils who turned up had to return home. Some schoolchildren in the Tamale metropolis loitered in their respective schools and the streets of the metropolis as their teachers embarked on industrial action. Vincent Amenuveve reports that at the Police Barracks Primary and Junior High School, for instance, the children were asked to go home because of the strike. At the Tishegu Anglican Cluster of Schools, the situation was not different, as some of the children were found playing on the school compound, while others roamed the streets. Some of the teachers entreated the government to do something about their salaries to motivate them to teach. From Koforidua, A. Kofoya-Tetteh reports that most of the teachers in SHSs in the New Juaben municipality laid down their tools. A few others were, however, in the classrooms either teaching or supervising the practical examination of the WASSCE which had just begun. At the Oti Boaten SHS, some of the teachers were busily supervising the WASSCE practical examinations but most of their colleagues had gathered in front of the school administration block discussing the issue. The situation was different at the Ghana SHS where most of the teachers were at post, with some supervising either the WASSCE practical examination or end-of- term examination. According to the Headmaster, the Rev Abraham Osei Donkor, although the situation was normal in his school, he feared that it would worsen, since the strike was a national industrial action which could negatively impact on the students, especially in the middle of April, the critical period of the WASSCE. Victor Kwawukume reports that pupils in a number of schools visited in the Ho municipality reported to school as usual and did their normal pre-class activities. But no teacher reported to school and pupils with information began the rumour that teachers were on strike. Thereafter, some went to the classrooms, while others went playing. Taxi drivers were confused regarding the closing time for the children they picked at agreed times. After 10 a.m., a good number of pupils were seen walking on the pavements along the principal streets of Ho.