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President Mahama unveiling a bust of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah at the Bagabaga College of Education to mark the 70th anniversary of the college in Tamale.

Remain dedicated to your work — President Mahama tells teachers

President John Dramani Mahama has called on teachers to be dedicated to their work as the government makes efforts to address their concerns.

He said it was not enough to be a brilliant teacher, " the ability to impart that knowledge to the young ones, commitment to work and dedication to duty are equally important for you to be successful teachers", he said.

The President, who was speaking at the 70th anniversary celebration and the fourth congregation of the Bagabaga College of Education (BATCO) in Tamale at the weekend, implored teachers to also prioritise the interest of their students.

He reiterated that his government placed a lot of premium on human resource development, and for that matter, the training of the teacher, adding that the progress and development of a country depends largely on the quality of its citizens which also depends on the quality of its teachers.

President Mahama, therefore, called on teachers to continue to be  the light in the society for all to follow as they use to be in the years past.

Infrastructure

The President stated that the  government for the past six years had done a lot through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) by providing basic, senior high schools (SHSs) and tertiary institutions across the country with modern infrastructure, such as classrooms, science and computer laboratories, dormitories, among others, to provide a conducive environment for teaching and learning.

He noted that infrastructure alone could not contribute to improved academic performance, and therefore urged students to take their education seriously while urging teachers to also give of their best for the country to achieve the desired results in education to move the country forward.

He gave an assurance that he would forward a request by the  Principal of the College for a new auditorium to the GETfund for  consideration.

200 Community Day SHSs

President Mahama, in his address, stated further that the promise to construct 200 community day SHSs across the country was on track and so far, 73 were at various stages of completion to further grant access to quality secondary education in the country.

Tribute to past students

President Mahama said he honoured  the invitation to attend the anniversary celebration of the college not because of his passion for education and teachers, but also as his personal tribute to his late father who was a product of the college.

He further mentioned some of the old students of the college as Adama Mahama, A Asumda Ayeebo, Mumuni Bawumia, Abayifa Karbo, S.D. Dombo, Salifu Dakura, Hilla Limann, Issifu Ali, Jatoe Kaleo, among others, who were either dead or living, including some ministers of state in the current administration and Professor (Naa ) John Nabilla, the President of the National House of Chiefs,  who also chaired the occasion.

" The list makes me feel that the college, being the first second-cycle education institution in the Northern Territories, did not only produce the first teachers at that time but it also produced the first Ghanaian administrators for Northern Ghana. Indeed, this college can be described as the mother of education in Northern Ghana",  he stated.

He congratulated the college on its successes over the past 70 years, and also wished the graduating students well and urged them to keep the torch of progress burning.

President Mahama later unveiled  a bust in memory of the first President of Ghana,  the late Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and inaugurated the centenary library at the college.

He announced that the IPMC, an Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) company, had offered to equip the college's ICT centre and library with computers at the cost of $250,000 .

Prof. Nabilla, the Council Chairman of the college who is also an old student, urged the students to discard the notion that  colleges of education were for school drop-outs, adding that when they studied hard and remained focused they could attain higher laurels in education, citing himself as an example.

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, on behalf of the chiefs and people of the Northern Region, thanked the President for the numerous development projects in the region in the area of education infrastructure, electricity, roads, among others.

The Principal of the college, Alhaji Adam Zakaria, appealed for the construction of staff bungalows to ease staff accommodation and an auditorium to give the college a facelift.

In all, a total of 866 students made up of  four batches of regular and sandwich students for the 2012/2013 academic year graduated with Diploma in Basic Education.

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