T-TEL programme commends teachers
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”- William Arthur Ward.
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Teachers hold the key to a better future for all. Every day, they help to educate children from different backgrounds and needs, mentor and encourage them to be enthused about and remain in school. They give them a strong start in life, and well-qualified teachers inspire, challenge and empower innovative and responsible citizens.
In a press statement to mark this year’s celebration of World Teachers Day (WTD) on October 5 on the theme: “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”, the government-owned programme, Transforming Teacher Education and Learning in Ghana (T-TEL), commended all teachers, particularly Ghanaian teachers, for their hard work over the years in helping Ghanaian children to learn and grow.
Teachers’ role vital
The statement said, “We renew our commitment to ensuring the whole education sector and general public in Ghana and around the world recognise the vital role teachers play in supporting our schoolchildren and building a vibrant, productive and successful society.”
The T-TEL is a four-year (2015-2018) Government of Ghana programme, funded and supported by the United Kingdom (UK) Government through its Department for International Development (DFID) - providing £17 million to help transform delivery of teacher education in Ghana.
Since it was launched a year ago, T-TEL has recruited and trained 20 Ghanaian education professionals who support the country’s colleges of education; the institutions responsible for educating teachers in the country.
These trained professionals are training those responsible for ensuring student teachers are well prepared to excel in the classroom by conducting specialist training in interactive teacher education, effective leadership and management techniques, gender responsive and inclusive instruction, supporting high quality teaching in schools and providing professional development to college tutors.
The T-TEL is also providing funds for innovation and results to the country’s colleges of education, ensuring that they are motivated and ready to chart their own road maps to full tertiary status.
Innovative concepts
Grants totalling approximately GH¢2,000,000 have so far been disbursed by T-TEL to 23 colleges of education to implement innovative concepts that would improve the quality of teaching and learning, and ultimately the skills of student teachers.
The programme is equally supporting the National Teaching Council (NTC) and the Institute of Education of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to develop a national teacher education framework, as part of processes to improve the curriculum for teacher education.
Innovations initiated and supported by the programme are already being implemented by the colleges of education, and all the 38 initial public colleges that T-TEL worked with, have established professional development sessions for their tutors which are based on resources developed by T-TEL staff and advisors.
It is important to mention that since October 2015, 87 per cent of the scheduled professional development sessions have taken place across all the colleges.
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