Ministry to expand Best Teacher Awards
The Ministry of Education is considering expanding the Best Teacher Award to include the Best School category, in honour of educational institutions from the pre-school to the senior high school level that perform creditably.
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The proposal, expected to take off during the 2015 edition of the awards, will be one way of recognising the efforts of such schools, which extends to all the teachers, non-teaching staff, the community, parents and everyone who supports the school.
The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, announced this at the 2014 National Best Teacher Awards scheme sponsors’ appreciation reception in Accra.
Sponsors
In all, 18 companies that have been consistent in sponsoring the award were honoured. They included the Metropolitan Pensions Insurance Trust, the SIC Life, SEDCO Publishers, EPP Books Services, Promasidor Ghana Ltd, RLg, Vestel Publications and Vidya Books Stores.
She said it took an individual to make a difference, and that was why the ministry would like to continue, “but at the same time, we also recognise that we want to do more”.
Committee and modalities
The minister informed the sponsors that a committee had been constituted to develop the criteria and modalities to select the best school for the award.
Professor Opoku-Agyeman mentioned some of the areas the committee would be considering to include the quality of leadership and management, condition of the school, the quality of teaching and learning and standard of academic achievement, school and community relationship.
Prizes
She listed some of the prizes which she believed could benefit the whole school, including the teachers and pupils, as teaching and learning materials, toys and large screen television set for the pre-schools; computer laboratory with computers for the primary and Junior High School (JHS) levels and computer laboratory with computers and technical equipment for Senior High Schools (SHSs) and technical institutions.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang, however, added that in the event that an SHS that won the award already had a computer laboratory, such a school would receive science laboratory equipment or a library with books.
She appealed to the corporate world to support the new areas the ministry was adding to the already existing one.
Responding on behalf of the sponsors, a representative form Vidya Books Stores, Ms Heene Karanehandani, thanked the ministry for recognising sponsors of the award.