Two bodies get new governing councils
The new governing councils of two bodies were sworn into office yesterday by the Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, at a ceremony in Accra.
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They were a 14-member Ghana Education Service (GES) Council and an 11-member governing council of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
While the GES Council is chaired by Mr Michael Nsowa, a former Director-General of the GES, that of GIMPA is chaired by Mr Kofi Darko Asante.
Extortions
Addressing the GES Council, Dr Prempeh charged the members to investigate allegations that some circuit supervisors demanded money from teachers to facilitate their posting and promotion.
“I charge you council members to take this matter up as soon as possible and ensure that the practice is stamped out in order to preserve the integrity of the GES and the government payroll system,” Dr Prempeh told them.
GES Council members
Members of the GES council are Dr Salome Essuman, Mr Anis Haffar and Very Rev. Ama Afo Blay, all government nominees. Others are a representative of the Ministry of Education, Mr Enoch H. Cobinnah, the GES representative, Mr Jacob Maabobr Kor, the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Rev. Sister Elizabeth Amoako-Arhin and the Ghana Christian Council representative, Rt Rev. Professor C.N. Omenyo.
The rest are representatives of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Mr John Kwasi Nyoagbe, the Teacher and Education Workers Union, Mrs Florence Agyei Wiredu, the Ghana National Association of Private Schools, Mr Justice King Essel, the Public Services Commission, Mr Michael O. Nimako, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Mr Ayyub Morgan and the Catholic Bishops Conference, Most Rev. J.B. Kwofie.
Touching on the improvement of professionalism, Dr Prempeh said: “We envisage the registration and licensing of teachers to improve professionalism.
“This will go with improving the quality and standards of the profession, through the Pre-tertiary Teacher Development Programme (PTDP) and the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) programme,” he said.
GES Code of Conduct
Dr Prempeh charged the council to strictly enforce the GES Code of Conduct, which he said was an important feature of their tenure, stressing that ethical behaviour was key in any profession if public confidence was to be retained by it.
The minister noted that teacher absenteeism was a major challenge in the education system, linking it to the fact that in some cases, teachers turned up for class but got engrossed in their private studies during teaching hours and left the children unattended to.
“Both trends have severe implications for the quality of instruction our children receive. You will need to enforce teacher discipline to improve time on tasks,” he further charged the council members.
He also tasked the council to demand accountability for school performance from heads, through the signing of performance contracts, drawing their attention to a number of issues he said were of “great concern to the ministry.”
Dr Prempeh listed them as promotions, transfers, the timely processing of teachers’ payments, teacher rationalisation and the completion of validation exercises.
In his response to the minister’s speech, Mr Nsowa said members were fully aware of their responsibilities and expressed optimism that with co-operation, they would achieve the task ahead of them,
He pledged that members of the team would bring their experiences to bear on their mandate.
GIMPA Governing Council
Swearing in the GIMPA Council, Dr Prempeh reminded members of their role as an important decision-making body that played a critical role in ensuring quality, efficiency and effectiveness in that institution.
“As a council, therefore, your main task should be to adopt the right approaches and practical interventions aimed at achieving excellence in the institution,” he stressed.
He assured that the ministry would continue to support tertiary institutions to deliver, adding that through the NCTE, “we will do our best to address the shortage of staff at the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.”
Members
Membership of the GIMPA council comprises Ms Florence E. Bobi, Professor Nana Owusu Frimpong, both government nominees, the Ag Rector of GIMPA, Professor P.E. Bonzie Simpson, the Chairperson of the Public Services Commission, Mrs Bridget Katsriku and a representative of the Office of the Head of Civil Service, Nana K. Agyekum Dwamena.
The rest are representatives of the NCTE, Professor Mohammed Salifu; the GIMPA Senior Staff, Dr Joe Taabazuing; the GIMPA alumni, Mr Norman Yemetey; the State Enterprises Commission, Dr Camynta Baezia, and the Association of Ghana Industries, Mr Joe Hyde Jnr.