LAWS OF GOLD COAST

TEACHERS' PENSIONS ORDINANCE, 1955 (NO. 23 OF 1955)

GOLD COAST.

As amended

THE TEACHERS' PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1959 (NO. 44 OF 1959).1

THE TEACHERS' PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1963 (ACT 198).2

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1. Short Title and Commencement.

2. Interpretation

3. Pension Regulations.

4. Law Applicable to grant of Pension or Gratuity.

5. Pensions, etc., to be paid from Revenues of the Gold Coast.

6. Pensions, etc., not of Right.

7. Circumstances in which Pension may be granted.

8. Compulsory Retirement.

9. Maximum Pension.

10. Pensions, etc., not to be Assignable.

11. Pensions, etc., to Cease on Bankruptcy.

12. Pensions, etc., may Cease on Sentence to Term of  Imprisonment.

13. Gratuity where a Teacher Dies in the Service.

14. Pensions to Dependants when a Teacher is Killed on Duty.

15. Pensions, Etc., Granted Before the Enactment of this Ordinance.

SCHEDULES

First Schedule—Regulations for the granting of pensions and gratuities in respect of teaching service

Part I—Preliminary

Part II—Teachers without other public service

Part III—Teachers with other public service

Part IV—General

Assented to in Her Majesty's Name and on Her Majesty's behalf this 9th day of September, 1955.

C. N. ARDEN-CLARKE

Governor.

AN ORDINANCE to prescribe the pensions and gratuities payable to teachers, not being public officers, in public schools and public training colleges and to certain clerical and administrative staff of Educational Units, public schools and public training colleges.

Date of Commencement.

[Other than sections 10 to 14, 1st April, 1952.]

BE IT ENACTED by the Legislature of the Gold Coast, as follows:—

Section 1—Short Title and Commencement.

This Ordinance may be cited as the Teachers' Pensions Ordinance 1955, and the provisions of this Ordinance other than sections 10 to 14 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the first day of April, 1952.

Section 2—Interpretation.

(1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—

"certificated teacher" means a person to whom the Director has issued any of the following teaching certificates—

Certificate A

Certificate A (Rural Science)

Certificate B

A Teacher's Certificate given under the provisions of paragraph (b) of rule 42 of the Education (Northern Territories) Rules

External Certificate

Honorary Certificate

Art Teachers' Certificate

Handicraft Teachers' Certificate

Recognition Certificate

A Certificate which the Director, by notice in the Gazette, directs shall be a teaching certificate for the purpose of this definition;

and includes a person to whom a degree, certificate or diploma has been awarded by some other person or body which is recognised by the Director as an equivalent or higher teaching qualification than the above-mentioned certificates;

"Educational Unit" means a corporation, association of persons or religious society which has the management of one or more public schools or public training colleges, and which, except where the corporation is a local authority, is, on the advice of the Central Advisory Committee on Education, recognised as such by the Minister or was prior to the commencement of this Ordinance recognised as such by the Director;

"Director" means the person for the time being lawfully discharging the duties of the Director of Education of the Gold Coast;

"Government" means the Government of the Gold Coast;

No. 9 of 1953. Cap. 64

"local authority" means a Municipal Council established under the provisions of the Municipal Councils Ordinance, 1953, and a District, Urban or Local Council established under the provisions of the Local Government Ordinance;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for education;

"native authority" means a native authority which was constituted as such under the provisions of any Ordinance;

"pensionable emoluments" means salary, expatriation pay and any personal allowance but except in so far as may be provided by any regulations made under the provisions of this Ordinance does not include any other allowance or emoluments whatsoever;

“private school” means a school other than a public school. [Inserted by the Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 3(4).]

"public" in respect of schools and training colleges means lawfully maintained wholly or in part from funds voted by the Government for the service of the Education Department or from local authority or native authority funds;

"public service" includes teaching service and other public service;

“other public service” means—

(a) service under the Government or a local authority, or

(b) service under the Kumasi College of Technology, Achimota School or the University College of Ghana, or

(c) service as a teacher in any territory forming part of the Commonwealth outside Ghana which under the law of that territory counts for computation of an annual retiring benefit, and

(d) such service as the Governor-General may by order (which may be expressed to be retrospective to any extent) determine to be other public service for the purposes of this definition. [As substituted by the Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 2(1).]

Cap. 121.

"school" means an assembly of not less than ten pupils, assembled for the purpose of receiving regular instruction, but does not include any corporation established by any Ordinance, other than section 17 of the Education (Colony and Ashanti) Ordinance, or any Sunday school industrial school, training college, or other establishment which is intended solely for the education of adults;

"teacher" means a certificated teacher but shall be deemed to include a person in a post certified by the Director to be under an Educational Unit, other than a local authority, or under a public school or public training college the duties of which post are of a full time clerical or administrative nature connected with education;

"teaching service"

Note: Extended by No. 44 of 1959. s. 3

(a) in respect of the period after the commencement of this Ordinance, means full-time service in the Gold Coast as a certificated teacher, otherwise than in the service of the Government, in a public school or public training college and includes service in the Gold Coast in a post certified by the Director to be under an Educational Unit, other than a local authority, or under a public school or public training college the duties of which post are of a full-time clerical or administrative nature connected with education; and

(b) in respect of the period prior to the commencement of this Ordinance  means full-time service in the Gold Coast as a certificated  teacher, otherwise than in the service of the Government, in a school or training college managed by an Educational Unit and includes service in the Gold Coast in a post certified by the Director to be under an Educational Unit, other than a local authority, or under a public school or public training college the duties of which post arc of a full-time clerical or administrative nature connected with education:

Provided that service on terms of employment which provide specifically for a gratuity or resettlement grant only on cessation of employment or that the employment was temporary employment shall not constitute teaching service;

"Teaching Service in Private Schools"

(1) shall include full-time service as a certificated teacher in a private school which is for the time being recognised by order of the Minister responsible for education for the purposes of this section.

(2) An order made under this section before the first day of January, 1960 may provide for a school being treated as a recognised school as from the beginning of the year 1959.

(3) In relation to a teacher in a private school section 8 of the principal Ordinance (which relates to compulsory retirement) shall not apply. [Inserted by the Teachers' Peensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 3].

"training college" means an establishment for the training of teachers, but does not include the University College of the Gold Coast, the Kumasi College of Technology or the Achimota Teacher Training College or any department thereof.

(2) A teacher who is paid by the Government out of moneys not appearing in a personal emolument sub-head of the Estimates shall not be regarded as being in the service of the Government for the purposes of this Ordinance.

Section 3—Pension Regulations.

First Schedule.

(1) Pensions and gratuities may be granted by the Governor in accordance with the regulations contained in the First Schedule to this Ordinance to teachers who have been in teaching service in the Gold Coast.

The said regulations may from time to time be amended, added to, or revoked by regulations made by the Governor, and all regulations so made shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly and published in the Gazette.

First Schedule.

(2) All regulations made under this section shall have the same force and effect as if they were contained in the First Schedule to this Ordinance, and the expression " this Ordinance " shall, wherever it occurs in this Ordinance, be construed as including a reference to the said Schedule.

(3) Whenever the Governor is satisfied that it is equitable that any regulation made under this section should have retrospective effect in order to confer a benefit upon or remove a disability attaching to any person, that regulation may be given retrospective effect for that purpose:

Provided that no such regulation shall have retrospective effect unless it has received the prior approval of the Legislative Assembly signified by resolution.

Section 4—Law Applicable to Grant of Pension or Gratuity.

Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, any pension or gratuity granted under this Ordinance shall be computed in accordance with the law or regulations in force on the date of a teacher's retirement from public service:

Provided that in the case of a teacher who retired from teaching service prior to the commencement of this Ordinance and to whom a pension is grantable under the provisions of paragraphs (b) to (d) of section 7 of this Ordinance the pension shall be computed in accordance with the provisions of the law and regulations in force on the date on which the pension is grantable.

Section 5—Pensions, Etc., to be Paid From Revenues of the Gold Coast.

There shall be paid out of the revenues of the Gold Coast all such sums of money as may from time to time be granted by way of pension or gratuity in pursuance of this Ordinance.

Section 6—Pensions, Etc., not of Right.

(1) No teacher shall have an absolute right to pension or gratuity; nor shall anything in this Ordinance affect any right of the employer to dismiss any teacher at any time in accordance with the terms of his employment.  

Note See No. 69 of 1959: ss. 3 and 4.

(2) Where it is established to the satisfaction of the Governor that a teacher has been guilty of negligence, irregularity or misconduct, the pension or gratuity may be reduced or altogether withheld.

Section 7—Circumstances in which Pension may be Granted.

No pension or gratuity shall be granted under this Ordinance to any teacher except—

(a)  on his retirement from public service in one of the following cases—[As amended by the Teachers' Peensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 4(1).]

(i) on or after attaining the age of fifty years;

(ii) on compulsory retirement under the provisions of section 8 of this Ordinance,

Note: No 44 of 1959

(iii) in the case of a person deemed to be a teacher, on the abolition of his office;

(iv) on medical evidence to the satisfaction of the Minister that he is incapable by reason of any infirmity of mind or body of discharging the duties of his office and that such infirmity is likely to be permanent; or

(b) on his attaining the age of fifty years on or after the commencement of this section, or at the commencement of this section if by such date he had attained the age of fifty years and in either case he—

(i) was, at the age of fifty years or at the commencement of this section, as the case may be, a Member of the Legislative Assembly, or a Chief or was pursuing the avocation of an ordained minister of a religious body under which an Educational Unit functions or pursuing a course of training recognised by the Minister as being preparatory for such ordination,

(ii) had completed not less than ten years teaching service, and

(iii) had retired from public service in order to become a member of the Legislative Assembly or to become a Chief or to pursue the avocation of an ordained minister of religion, as the case may be; [As amended by the Teachers' Peensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 4(2).]

(c) on the commencement of this section, in a case where prior to the commencement of this section he—

(i) attained the age of fifty-five years while being a Member of the Legislative Assembly, or a Chief or while pursuing the avocation of an ordained minister of a religious body under which an Educational Unit functions or pursuing a course of training recognised by the Minister as being preparatory for such ordination,

(ii) had completed not less than ten years teaching service, and

(iii) had retired from teaching service in order to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly or to become a Chief or to pursue the avocation of an ordained minister of religion, as the case may be:  or

Provided that where retirement from teaching service in order to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Chief took place prior to the first day of January, 1946, no pension or gratuity shall be granted under the provisions of this paragraph; or

(d) on the commencement of this section, in a case where prior to the first day of January, 1946, he—

(i) on his retirement from teaching service had attained the age of fifty-five years,

(ii) had completed not less than ten years teaching service, and he has not been granted a pension by the government in respect of his teaching service; or

(e) on retirement from other public service on or after reaching the age at which he is permitted by the law or regulations of the service in which he is last employed to retire on pension or gratuity, in a case where a teacher has transferred to other public service:

Provided that a gratuity may be granted in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance to a female teacher who retires for the reason that she is about to marry or who retires at any time during a marriage contracted while she is in teaching service notwithstanding that she is not otherwise eligible under this section for the grant of any pension or gratuity.

Section 8—Compulsory Retirement.

(1) No teacher shall be retained in teaching service after he has attained the age of fifty-five years save with the approval of the Director.

Note: Limited by No. 44 of 1959: s. 3 (3).

(2) It shall be lawful for an employer with the prior approval of the Director to require a teacher to retire from teaching service at any time after he attains the age of fifty years, subject to six months notice in writing of such requirement being given to the teacher by the employer.

(3) [Repealed by the Teachers' Peensions (Amendment) Act, 1963 (Act 198), s. (a).]

Section 9—Maximum Pension.

(1) Except in cases provided for by subsection (2), a pension granted to a teacher under this Ordinance shall not exceed two-thirds of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by him at any time in the course of his teaching service.

(2) A teacher who shall have been granted a pension in respect of teaching service under this Ordinance shall not at any time draw from the funds of the Gold Coast an amount of pension which, when added to the amount of any other pension or pensions drawn in respect of other public service, exceeds two-thirds of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by him at any time in the course of the public service in respect of which any such pension is granted:

Provided that where a teacher receives in respect of some period of service both a reduced pension and a gratuity, the amount of such pension shall be deemed for the purpose of this subsection to be four-thirds of its actual amount.

(3) For the purposes of the preceding subsections an additional pension granted in respect of injury shall not be taken into account; but where the teacher is granted such an additional pension under this Ordinance, the amount thereof together with the remainder of his pension or pensions drawn in respect of other public service shall not exceed fifty-sixtieths of his highest pensionable emoluments at any time in the course of the public service in respect of which any such pension is granted.

Section 10—Pensions, Etc., not to be Assignable.

A pension or gratuity granted under this Ordinance shall not be assignable or transferable except for the purpose of satisfying—

(1) a debt due to the Government or to the teacher's employer immediately prior to his retirement from teaching service, or

(2) an Order of any Court for the payment of periodical sums of money towards the maintenance of the wife or former wife or minor child of the teacher to whom the pension or gratuity has been granted,

and shall not be liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim whatever except a debt due to the Government or to his employer immediately prior to his retirement from teaching service.

Section 11—Pensions, Etc., to Cease on Bankruptcy.

(1) If any person to whom a pension has been granted under this Ordinance is adjudicated bankrupt or is declared insolvent by judgment of any competent Court, then such pension shall forthwith cease.

(2) If any person is adjudicated bankrupt or declared insolvent as aforesaid either—

(a) after retirement in circumstances in which he is eligible for pension under this Ordinance but before the pension is granted, or

(b) before such retirement, and he shall not have obtained his discharge from bankruptcy or insolvency at the date of retirement,

then, in the former case any pension eventually granted to him shall cease as from the date of adjudication or declaration as the case may be and, in the latter case, the pension may be granted, but shall cease forthwith and not become payable.

(3) Where a pension ceases by reason of this section, it shall be lawful for the Minister, from time to time during the remainder of such person's life, or during such shorter period or periods, either continuous or discontinuous, as the Minister shall think fit, to direct all or any part of the moneys to which such person would have been entitled by way of pension, had he not become bankrupt or insolvent, to be paid to, or applied for the maintenance or benefit of all or any, to the exclusion of the other or others, of the following, that is to say, such person and any wife, child or children of his, in such proportions and manner as the Minister thinks proper, and such moneys shall be paid or applied accordingly.

(4) Moneys applied for the discharge of the debts of the person whose pension has so ceased shall, for the purposes of this section, be regarded as applied for his benefit.

(5) When a person whose pension has so ceased obtains his discharge from bankruptcy or insolvency, it shall be lawful for the Minister to direct that the pension shall be restored as from the date of such discharge or any later date, and the pension shall be restored accordingly.

Section 12—Pensions, Etc., may Cease on Sentence to Term of  Imprisonment.

(1) If any person to whom a pension has been granted under this Ordinance is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by any competent Court for any offence, such pension or allowance shall, if the Minister so directs, cease as from such date as the Minister determines.

(2) If any person is sentenced as aforesaid after retirement in circumstances in which he is eligible for pension under the Ordinance but before the pension is granted, then the provisions of the foregoing subsection shall apply as respects any pension which may be granted to him.

(3) Where a pension or allowance ceases by reason of this section it shall be lawful for the Minister to direct, all or any part of the moneys to which such person would have been entitled by way of pension had he not been sentenced as aforesaid to be paid, or applied, in the same manner in all respects as prescribed in the preceding section, and such moneys shall be paid or applied accordingly.

(4) If such person after conviction at any time receives a free pardon, the pension shall be restored with retrospective effect; but in determining whether arrears of such pension are payable to such person and in computing the amount thereof, account shall be taken of all moneys paid or applied under the preceding subsection.

Section 13—Gratuity where a Teacher Dies in the Service.

(1) Where a teacher in teaching service and not serving on probation dies while in teaching service, it shall be lawful for the Governor to grant to his legal personal representative, or in a case where there is no legal personal representative to any person being a relative of such teacher, a gratuity of an amount not exceeding the amount of his annual pensionable emoluments.

(2) It shall be lawful for the Governor to grant a gratuity of an amount not exceeding his annual pensionable emoluments to any relative or relatives of such teacher who has or have been nominated by him to receive the same.  Any such nomination shall be in writing, signed by the teacher, and deposited by him with the Director. In case more than one relative is nominated, the proportions in which such relatives shall share the gratuity  shall be stated in the nomination paper:

(2A) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, where, if the teacher had retired at the date of his death a pension might have been granted to him under this Ordinance, or might have been so granted but for the provisions of section 7 of this Ordinance, the amount of a gratuity under this section shall be an amount not exceeding—

(a) the amount of the gratuity which would be payable under Regulation 19 of the Regulations in the First Schedule to this Ordinance (which gives a teacher to whom a pension is granted the option of converting part of his pension into a gratuity) assuming—

(i) that he had so retired after exercising that option, and

(ii) that a pension had been granted to him under this Ordinance, or

(b) the amount of his annual pensionable emoluments, whichever is the greater, and in determining the amount of the pension under sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this subsection in the case of the teacher whose public service was not wholly teaching service it shall be assumed that the whole service of his public service was teaching service.

(2B) If a teacher—

(a) who transferred to teaching service from other public service, and

(b) who had at the date of transfer been in public service for three years or more,

dies while serving on probation in teaching service the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply as they would have applied if he had not been serving on probation. [Inserted by the Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 5(1).]

Provided that in the event of no such nomination being made, or of the person nominated or of one or more of the persons nominated predeceasing the teacher, it shall be lawful for the Governor to grant to the personal representative of the deceased teacher such gratuity or such portion thereof as may not have been paid to a person nominated on account of his death as aforesaid.

(3) For the purpose of this section, "annual pensionable emoluments" means the emoluments which would be taken for the purpose of computing any pension or gratuity granted to the teacher if he had retired at the date of his death in the circumstances described in sub-paragraph (iv) of paragraph (a) of section 7 of this Ordinance.

Section 14—Pensions to Dependants when a Teacher is Killed on Duty.

(1) Where a teacher dies as a result of injuries received—

(a) in the actual discharge of his duty, and

(b) without his own default, and

(c) on account of circumstances specifically attributable to the nature of his duty,

while in teaching service, it shall be lawful for the Governor to grant, in addition to the grant, if any, made under the provisions of section 13—

(i) if the deceased teacher leaves a widow, a pension to her, while unmarried, at a rate not exceeding ten-sixtieths of his annual pensionable emoluments at the date of the injury or twelve pounds a year, whichever is the greater;

(ii) if the deceased teacher leaves a widow to whom a pension is granted under the preceding paragraph and a child or children, a pension in respect of each child, until such child attains the age of twenty-one years, of an amount not exceeding one-eighth of the pension prescribed under the preceding paragraph;

(iii) if the deceased teacher leaves a child or children, but does not leave a widow or no pension is granted to the widow, a pension in respect of each child, until such child attains the age of twenty-one years, of double the amount prescribed by the preceding paragraph;

(iv) if the deceased teacher leaves a child or children and a widow to whom a pension is granted under paragraph (i) and the widow subsequently dies, a pension in respect of each child as from the date of the death of the widow until such child attains the age of twenty-one years, of double the amount prescribed in paragraph (ii);

(v)  if the deceased teacher does not leave a widow, or if no pension is granted to his widow, and if his mother was wholly or mainly dependent on him for her support, a pension to the mother, while without adequate means of support, of an amount not exceeding the pension which might have been granted to his widow:

Provided that—

(a)  pensions shall not be payable under this subsection at any time in respect of more than six children; and

(b)  in the case of a pension granted under paragraph (v), if the mother is a widow at the time of the grant of the pension and subsequently remarries such pension shall cease as from the date of re-marriage; and if it appears to the Minister at any time that the mother is adequately provided with other means of support, such pension shall cease as from such date as the Minister may determine;

(c) a pension granted to a female child under this section shall cease upon the marriage of such child under the age of twenty-one years;

(d) where a deceased teacher leaves more than one widow, or children born of more than one marriage, or any persons wholly or in part dependent upon him for their support or it is for any other reason impracticable to grant a pension or pensions in the manner prescribed in any of the preceding provisions of this subsection, the Governor may grant a pension or pensions, not exceeding in the aggregate the total value of the pensions which might be granted at any one time under the said provisions hereof, to such widows, children or dependants:

Provided always that the amount of any one pension shall not exceed in the case of one or more adult persons or in the case of a child the pension which might have been granted to a widow or a child respectively under the said provisions.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

"widow", save where it occurs in proviso (d) to subsection

(1), means a sole widow;

"teaching service", notwithstanding the definition contained in section 2 of this Ordinance, includes service which would be teaching service if the service were not on terms of employment which provide specifically for a gratuity or resettlement grant on cessation of employment or that the employment is temporary employment;

"pensionable emoluments", in a case where the definition of the expression "teaching service" is extended for the purposes of this section, means the emoluments of the deceased teacher which would have been pensionable had he been employed on pensionable terms;

"child", includes—

(a) a posthumous child;

(b) a step-child or illegitimate child born before the date of the injury and wholly or mainly dependent upon the deceased teacher for support; and

(c)  an adopted child, adopted in a manner recognised by law, before the date of the injury, and dependent as aforesaid.

(3) If a teacher proceeding by a route approved by the employer to or from the Gold Coast at the commencement or termination of a period of teaching service therein, or of a period of leave therefrom, dies as the result of damage to the vessel, aircraft or vehicle in which he is travelling, or of any act of violence directed against such vessel, aircraft or vehicle, and the Governor is satisfied that such damage or act is attributable to circumstances arising out of war in which Her Majesty may be engaged, such teacher shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have died in the circumstances described in subsection (1).

(4) A teacher who dies as a result of injuries received while travelling by air in pursuance of official instructions shall be deemed to have died in the circumstances detailed in paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1) of this section:

Provided that in such a case, and if paragraph (b) of the said subsection is also satisfied, the rates of pension prescribed in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of that subsection shall be fifteen-sixtieths and one-sixth respectively.

Cap. 94.

(5) This section shall not apply in the case of the death of any teacher selected for appointment in teaching service if his "dependants", as defined in the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance, or any Ordinance replacing that Ordinance, are entitled to compensation thereunder.

Section 15—Pensions, Etc., Granted Before the Enactment of this Ordinance.

Where any pension or gratuity has been granted by the Government in respect of the teaching service of a teacher which terminated between the 1st day of April, 1952, and the enactment of this Ordinance or in respect of the death of a teacher during such period, which is in the nature of a pension or gratuity grantable under the provisions of this Ordinance at the time eligibility for such pension arose such pension or gratuity shall be deemed to have been granted and paid under the provisions of this Ordinance Notwithstanding that no pension or gratuity or a lesser pension or gratuity would have been payable under the provisions of this Ordinance.

FIRST SCHEDULE

(Section 3)

REGULATIONS FOR THE GRANTING OF PENSIONS AND GRATUITIES IN RESPECT OF TEACHING SERVICE

PART I—PRELIMINARY

Regulation 1—Short Title and Commencement.

These Regulations may be cited as the Teachers' Pensions Regulations, 1955, and the provisions of these Regulations other than regulations 5, 9, 14, 15 and 18 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the first day of April, 1952.

Regulation 2—Interpretation.

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, "qualifying service" means public service which may be taken into account in determining whether a teacher is eligible by length of service for pension, gratuity or other allowance.

PART II—TEACHERS WITHOUT OTHER PUBLIC SERVICE

Regulation 3—Application of Part II.

This Part shall not apply in the case of any person transferred to or from teaching service from or to other public service except for the purpose of determining whether such person would have been eligible for pension or gratuity, and the amount of pension or gratuity for which he would have been eligible, if such services had been wholly teaching service.

Regulation 4—Pensions to whom and at what Rates to be Granted.

Subject to the provisions of the Ordinance and of these Regulations every teacher who has been in teaching service for ten years or more, may be granted on retirement a pension at the annual rate of one eight-hundredth part of his pensionable emoluments for each complete month of his teaching service.

Regulation 5—Gratuities Where Length of Public Service does not Qualify for Pension.

Every teacher, otherwise qualified for a pension, who has not completed the minimum period of teaching service qualifying him for a pension, may be granted on retirement a gratuity not exceeding five times the annual amount of the pension which, if there had been no qualifying period, might have been granted to him under regulation 4 of these Regulations.

Regulation 6—Marriage Gratuities.

Where a female teacher having been in teaching service for not less than five years retires from teaching service for the reason that she is about to marry or retires at any time during a marriage contracted while she is in teaching service, and is not eligible for the grant of any pension or otherwise eligible for gratuity under regulation 5 of these Regulations she may be granted, on production within six months after her retirement, or such longer period as the Director may in any particular case allow, of satisfactory evidence of her marriage, a gratuity not exceeding one-twelfth of a month's pensionable emoluments for each complete month of teaching service:

Provided that in the case of a teacher retiring from teaching service prior to the enactment of the Ordinance the gratuity grantable under these Regulations shall not exceed one-twentieth of a year's pensionable emoluments for each complete year of teaching service:

Provided further that the maximum gratuity which may be granted under this regulation shall not exceed one year's pensionable emoluments.

Section 6A—

(1) Where any female teacher retires from teaching service on or after the 1st day of July, 1961, in circumstances in which she is entitled to a gratuity under the last foregoing regulation, and is re-employed in teaching service not more than one year after such retirement, the service of such teacher before retirement shall, notwithstanding her retirement, be regarded as qualifying service:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a teacher who on being re-employed as aforesaid has attained the age of fifty years.

(2) Where any teacher to whom the foregoing paragraph applies has retired and been re-employed as aforesaid and has received a gratuity, the annual value of the pension of such teacher shall, on her final retirement from teaching service in circumstances in which she is eligible for a pension under the Ordinance, be reduced by an amount which is calculated to ensure that the total amount received by her by way of pension and gratuity is (as near as may be) equal to, and in any event is not less than the amount she would have received if she had been entitled to exercise, and had exercised, her option under regulation 19 of these regulations.

(3) Save for the purpose of making any calculation under the last foregoing paragraph the provisions of the said regulation 19 shall not apply in the case of a female teacher to whom that paragraph applies. [As inserted by the Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1963 (Act 198), s. (b).]

PART III—TEACHERS WITH OTHER PUBLIC SERVICE

Regulation 7—Application of Part III.

This Part shall apply only in the case of a teacher transferred to or from teaching service from or to other public service.

Regulation 8—Rates of Pension where Other Public Service. (No. 44 of 1959)

(1) Where the aggregate public service of a teacher would have qualified him, had it been wholly teaching service, for a pension under these Regulations, he may, on his retirement from the public service be granted in respect of his teaching service a pension at the annual rate of one eight-hundredth part of his pensionable emoluments for each complete month of his teaching service. [As amended by the Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 4(3).]

(2) Where the person is not in teaching service at the time of such retirement, whether he retired from teaching service before or after the commencement of the Ordinance, his pensionable emoluments for the purposes of the preceding paragraph shall be those which would have been taken for the purpose of computing his pension if he had retired from the public service and been granted a pension at the date of his transfer from teaching service.

(3) Where a teacher has by reason of transfer to or from teaching service from or to other public service completed more than one period of teaching service between which has intervened a period of public service the pension or gratuity in respect of teaching service shall be the pension or gratuity calculated upon the total period of teaching service and the annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed at final retirement from teaching service.

Regulation 9—Gratuities Where Length of Public Service does not Qualify for Pension.

Where a teacher to whom this Part of these Regulations applies retires from the public service but has not completed the minimum period of public service qualifying him for a pension, he may be granted in respect of his teaching service a gratuity not exceeding five times the annual amount of the pension which, if there had been no qualifying period, might have been granted to him under regulation 8 of these Regulations. [As amended by the Teachers' Peensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 4(3).]

Regulation 10—Marriage Gratuities.

A female teacher to whom this Part applies who retires for the reason that she is about to marry or retires at any time during a marriage contracted while she is in teaching service, and—

(a) if the whole of her public service had been teaching service, would have been eligible for a gratuity under regulation 6 of these Regulations, and

(b) [Repealed by the Teachers' Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1959 (No. 44 of 1959), s. 4(3).]

Provided that the maximum gratuity which may be granted under this regulation shall not exceed one year's pensionable emoluments.

PART IV—GENERAL

Regulation 11—General Rules as to Qualifying Service.

(1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, qualifying service shall be the inclusive period between the date on which a teacher begins to draw half or full salary in respect of public service and the date of his leaving the public service without deduction of any period during which he has been absent on leave.

(2) No period during which a teacher was not in public service shall be taken into account as qualifying service.

(3) No period which is not qualifying service by virtue of the foregoing paragraphs shall be taken into account for the purpose of computing a pension under these Regulations.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this regulation where prior to the enactment of this Ordinance the Director has, prior to a teacher temporarily leaving teaching service for the purpose of carrying on work of educational value, directed under the rules in force prior to the commencement of this Ordinance that the period in which the teacher was engaged on such work should count as qualifying service or as service on which a pension or gratuity could be computed such period shall be so regarded under these Regulations.

Regulation 12—Continuity of Service.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in these Regulations, only continuous service shall be taken into account as qualifying service or for the purpose of computing a pension under these Regulations:

Provided that any break in teaching service not exceeding one year unless arising from misconduct which results in the teacher being struck off the Register of Teachers kept by the Director of Education shall be disregarded for the purposes of this paragraph.

(2) A teacher—

(a) who has retired from the public service without pension on account of ill-health, and has subsequently been re-employed in teaching service, or

(b) who leaves teaching service for the purpose of becoming a Member of the Assembly, to pursue the avocation of an ordained minister of religion or to become a chief and who becomes a Member of the Assembly or a chief or pursues the avocation of an ordained minister of religion, as the case may be, and who is thereafter re-employed in teaching service without a break exceeding one year after ceasing to be such Member or chief or pursuing such avocation, may, if the Governor thinks fit, be granted the pension or gratuity for which he would have been eligible if any break in his public service immediately prior to such re-employment had not occurred, such pension to be in lieu of—

(i) any pension previously granted to him in respect of teaching service; and

(ii) any gratuity so granted which is required to be refunded as a condition of the application to the teacher of this regulation, but additional to any gratuity so granted which is not required to be refunded as aforesaid.

(3) Where under the provisions of this regulation a break in service may be disregarded such period shall not be taken into account for the purpose of computing a pension or gratuity.

Regulation 13—Leave Without Salary.

No period during which a teacher shall have been absent from duty on leave without salary shall be taken into account as service for the purpose of computing a pension under these Regulations unless such leave shall have been granted on grounds of public policy with the approval of the Minister.  Where prior to the enactment of this Ordinance the Director approved the absence of a teacher from teaching service on the ground that such absence was either to undertake a course of instruction or to undertake work of educational value such leave of absence shall be deemed to have been granted on grounds of public policy with the approval of the Minister.

Regulation 14—Emoluments to be Taken  for Computation of Pensions. Etc.

For the purpose of computing the amount of a teacher's pension or gratuity—

(a) in the case of a teacher who has held the same post for a period of three years immediately preceding the date of his retirement, the annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him at that date in respect of that post shall be taken;

(b) in the case of a teacher who at any time during such period of three years has been transferred from one post to another, but whose pensionable emoluments have not been changed by reason of such transfer or transfers, the annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him at the date of his retirement in respect of the then post held by him shall be taken;

(c) in the case of a teacher retired on the ground of ill-health, the annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him at the date of his retirement in respect of the post then held by him shall be taken, unless it would be more favourable to him to take the pensionable emoluments which would have been taken but for this paragraph, when the last-mentioned emoluments shall be taken;

(d) in other cases one-third of the aggregate pensionable emoluments enjoyed by the teacher in respect of his teaching service during the three years of his teaching service immediately preceding the date of his retirement shall be taken:

Provided that—

(i) if such one-third is less than the highest annual pensionable emoluments enjoyed by him at the date of any transfer within such period of three years those pensionable emoluments shall be taken;

(ii) if such one-third is less than the annual pensionable emoluments which would have been enjoyed by him at the date of his retirement if he had continued to hold any post from which he has been transferred at any time during such period of three years, and had received all increments which, in the opinion of the Director, would have been granted to him, the annual pensionable emoluments which would have been so enjoyed shall be taken;

(iii) for the purpose of calculating pensionable emoluments under this paragraph the teacher shall, subject to the provisions of regulation 15, be deemed to have been on duty on full pensionable emoluments throughout the said three years.

Regulation 15—Service Which is not Teaching Service.

(1) Where a period of service which would be teaching service if he were not employed on terms which provide specifically for a gratuity on cessation of employment or that the employment is temporary employment is immediately followed by teaching service, one-half of such period may, with the approval of the Governor, be so taken into account.

(2) A break in service which may be disregarded under the provisions of regulation 12 of these Regulations may likewise be disregarded in determining for the purposes of paragraph (1) of this regulation whether one period of teaching service immediately follows other service.

(3) Where one-half of a period of service which is not teaching service is taken into account under this regulation, the person shall, during that part of the period, be deemed for the purposes of regulations 6 and 18 of these Regulations to be in teaching service.

Regulation 16—Service not Qualifying for Pension.

Save as otherwise provided in these Regulations, there shall not be taken into account as teaching service—

(a) any period of teaching service while the person was under the age of eighteen years; or

(b) any period of teaching service while he was on probation or any period of service which would have been teaching service if the person were not employed on terms which provide specifically for a gratuity on cessation of employment or that the employment is temporary employment, unless without break of such service his service becomes teaching service:

Provided that any break of such service which may be disregarded under the provisions of regulation 12 of these Regulations may likewise be disregarded in determining whether service becomes teaching service without a break under this regulation.

Regulation 17—Incomplete Months of Teaching Service.

Where under these Regulations a pension is computed in two parts in relation to two separate periods of a teacher's teaching service, and the number of odd days not constituting a complete month in both periods amounts to thirty or more, such days shall for the purpose of computing his pension be regarded as one month's teaching service.

Regulation 18—Teachers Retiring on Account of Injuries.

(1) If a teacher employed in teaching service is permanently injured—

(a)  in the actual discharge of his duty, and

(b)  without his own default, and

(c)  on  account of circumstances specifically attributable to the nature of his duty,

(i)  he  may, if  his retirement is thereby necessitated or materially accelerated and he has not completed the minimum period of public service qualifying him for a pension, be granted, in lieu of any gratuity under regulation 5 or regulation 9 of these Regulations, a pension under regulation 4 or 8 of these Regulations, as the case may be, as if the words  "for ten years or more" were omitted from regulation 4;

(ii) he may, if so injured while in teaching service, be granted on retirement an additional pension at the annual rate of the proportion of his actual pensionable emoluments at the date of his injury appropriate to his case as shown in the following table:—

where his capacity to contribute to his own support is:—

slightly impaired              . .        five-sixtieths;

impaired          . .            . .        ten-sixtieths;

materially impaired         . .         fifteen-sixtieths;

totally destroyed             . .         twenty-sixtieths.

Provided that the amount of the additional pension may be reduced to such an extent as the Governor shall think reasonable where the injury is not the sole cause of retirement:

Provided further that the annual value of his total pension shall not exceed fifty-sixtieths of his pensionable emoluments at the date of the injury.

(2) A person so injured while in service which would be teaching service if he were not employed on terms which provide specifically for a gratuity or resettlement grant on cessation of employment or that the employment is temporary employment, may be granted on retirement a pension of the same amount as the additional pension which might be granted to him under sub-paragraph (1) (ii) of this regulation if he were in  teaching service.

(3) The provisions of regulation 19 shall not apply to an additional pension granted under sub-paragraph (1) (ii) or to a pension granted under paragraph (2) of this regulation.

(4) If a teacher proceeding by a route approved by the employer to or from the Gold Coast at the commencement or termination of his teaching service therein, or of a period of leave therefrom, is permanently injured as the result of damage to the vessel, aircraft or vehicle in which he is travelling or of any act of violence directed against such vessel, aircraft or vehicle and the Governor is satisfied that such damage or act is attributable to circumstances arising out of war in which Her Majesty may be engaged, such teacher shall be deemed for the purposes of this regulation to have been injured in the circumstances described in paragraph (1) of this regulation.

(5) A teacher in teaching service, within the meaning given to that expression in subsection (2) of section 14 of the Ordinance, who is permanently injured while travelling by air in pursuance of official instructions shall be deemed to have been injured in the circumstances detailed in sub-paragraphs (a) and (c) of paragraph (1) of this regulation, and for the purpose of computing a pension payable under the provisions of this regulation the expression "actual  pensionable emoluments" shall have the meaning given to the expression "pensionable emoluments" in subsection (2) of section 14 of the Ordinance:

Provided that in such a case, and if sub-paragraph (b) of the said paragraph is also satisfied, the rates of pension prescribed in that paragraph shall be seven and a half-sixtieths; fifteen-sixtieths; twenty-two and a half-sixtieths and thirty-sixtieths respectively.

Cap. 94.

(6) Neither sub-paragraph (1) (ii) nor paragraph (2) of this regulation shall apply in the case of a person who, in consequence of his injury, is entitled to compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance or any Ordinance replacing that Ordinance.

Regulation 19—Gratuity and Reduced Pension.

(1) A teacher to whom a pension is granted under the Ordinance may, at his option exercisable on or before the date of his retirement, be paid in lieu of such pension a pension at the rate of three-fourths of such pension together with a gratuity equal to twelve and one half times the amount of the reduction so made in the pension:

Provided that the Governor may, if it appears to him equitable in all the circumstances so to do, allow him to exercise the option or revoke an option previously exercised at any time between that date and the actual date of award of pension under the Ordinance:

Provided further that in the application of this regulation to cases where the limitation prescribed by subsection (2) of section 9 of the Ordinance operates, the words "such pension" shall mean the amount of pension which the teacher might have drawn from the funds of the Gold Coast if he had not exercised his option under this regulation.

(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this regulation, if a teacher has exercised the option, his decision shall be irrevocable.

(3) Where a teacher dies after he has finally retired, and has failed, owing to circumstances outside his control, to exercise his option under this regulation, it shall be lawful for the Governor to grant a reduced pension and a gratuity, as if the teacher before his death had elected therefor under this regulation.

Regulation 20—War Service to Count for Pension Purposes.

Where a teacher shall have served with Her Majesty's Forces in time of war, and before so serving shall have been employed in teaching service, the following provisions shall have effect:—

(1) during the period of such service in Her Majesty's Forces, including any period after the termination of the war (in this section referred to as "military service"), he shall be deemed, for the purposes of these Regulations, to have been on leave on full salary from the post in which he was last employed;

(2) during any period between his leaving teaching service for the purpose of serving in Her Majesty's Forces and the date of his commencing military service, he shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to be on leave without pay not granted on grounds of public policy, from teaching service; and during any period between the termination of his military service and the date of his re-entering public service he shall, for the said purposes, be deemed to be on leave without pay as aforesaid from teaching service, and to have held the post, in which he is re-employed:

Provided that—

(a) this regulation shall not apply when either period mentioned in paragraph (2) of this regulation exceeds three months, or such longer period as the Governor may in any special case determine: or if the teacher fails, after serving with Her Majesty's Forces, to re-enter teaching service otherwise than in circumstances in which he would be permitted to retire on pension or gratuity, such circumstances arising on or before the expiration of three months, or such longer period as may be determined as aforesaid, after the termination of his military service;

(b) if during any period mentioned in paragraph (1) a teacher shall, in respect of his military service, have qualified for pension, or received emoluments in lieu of pension rights, paragraph (1) shall, as respects that period, have effect as if the words "leave without salary not granted on grounds of public policy" were substituted for the words "leave on full salary";

(c) if during his military service a teacher shall be  injured he shall not for the purposes of regulation 18 be deemed to have been injured in the discharge of his duty.

This printed impression has been carefully compared by me with the Bill which has passed the Legislative Assembly, and found by me to be a true and correctly printed copy of the said Bill.

K. B. AYENSU

Acting Clerk to the Legislative Assembly.

As amended by

THE TEACHERS' PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1959 (NO. 44 OF 1959).1

THE TEACHERS' PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1963 (ACT 198).2