36 Teachers to receive scholarships for further studies
The 36 teachers who will win awards at the 23rd edition of the National Best Teachers’ Awards this year will be offered Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) scholarships to pursue further studies.
Additionally, the awardees from basic and second-cycle schools will be entitled to study leave with pay to enable them to upgrade their skills and knowledge base.
This year’s awards, to be held in Koforidua on October 5, 2017, will be on the theme: “Teaching in freedom, empowering teachers”.
The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, announced this in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of this year’s National Best Teachers’ Awards and the National Best Schools awards in Accra yesterday.
Be inspired
Dr Prempeh was optimistic that the scholarships would inspire the award winning teachers to work hard and give of their best.
“We believe that this will inspire other teachers to work hard. We are determined to help bring out the best in our teachers because we believe that it is a fundamental way to enhance teaching and learning in our institutions of learning,” he said.
The minister said this year’s awards were particularly momentous, coming on the heels of the launch of the free senior high school (SHS) policy which, he said, was a turning point, since financial barriers had been removed with respect to access to second-cycle schools.
“The relief on the faces of parents and guardians up and down the land is palpable and we expect SHS enrolment to go up significantly this year,” he said.
No compromise
Dr Prempeh stated that a key component of the policy was quality, on which the government would not compromise.
“Quality can only be delivered when our aspiring teachers are given the right training and those already in the profession encouraged to upgrade their skills,” he added.
He stressed that the government was determined to reform the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) curriculum to reflect the national teacher education curriculum framework to help teachers become more professionally competent with the right values and ethics, as well as confident and practical oriented.
“This is the kind of teacher needed for the 21st century and who will help our country achieve sustainable development for the next generation of children,” he added.
Protecting integrity
The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, said the free SHS policy was to improve the human resource base and insulate students against unemployment.
Besides, he said, there were several teacher-oriented policies meant to improve the lot of teachers who, he said, were instrumental in shaping the future of the people.
For his part, the acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwah, said teachers’ role in education and society was paramount in national development.
Describing teachers as mentors, counsellors, innovators and role models, he said the success of every educational programme depended largely on teachers and stressed the need for them to be motivated to perform effectively.
Representatives of various business entities pledged their commitment to sponsor this year’s awards.
The business entities included the State Insurance Company (SIC), Sedco Publishers, IPMC, Ecobank and the EPP Books Services which pledged to donate a vehicle for the event.