Adopt innovative teaching methods — Professor Saah
A former Associate Professor of the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Saah, has advised teachers at the basic and senior high school levels to adopt innovative teaching methods to contribute to the delivery of quality education.
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According to him, teachers needed to find and utilise different teaching strategies and methodologies in order to effectively make students grasp and understand most of the things they are taught. He added that teachers should think outside the box to enable the students to understand what they are taught.
He stated that every good teacher must learn to create something out of nothing, stressing that such a quality would enable a teacher to devise other means of ensuring that students understand what is taught.
Best teacher and workers awards day
Professor Saah gave the advice when he addressed the maiden best teacher and workers awards day ceremony in the Agona East District in the Central Region last Thursday, as guest speaker.
The ceremony was held on the theme: “A call for teachers—take lead for quality education.”
It was organised by the district directorate of education to reward 19 teachers and retirees for their contributions to the improvement of educational standards in the district.
Each awardee was given a prize to encourage others to emulate them.
Mr Godwin Nortey, a-36-year-old financial and cost accounting tutor at the Swedru Senior High School (SWESCO) was adjudged the overall best teacher in the district for 2013.
Professor Saah noted that most of the teaching methodologies teachers learnt at the various colleges of education and universities were meant to help them to impart knowledge to students and added that if they realised that these were not applicable, they should adapt and adopt strategies that would enable them to teach in a manner that would make students understand the lessons.
He urged teachers to strive to improve themselves through refresher courses and other sandwich programmes to enhance their teaching skills, stressing that such a move would enhance the delivery of quality education to school pupils.
The Agona East District Director of Education, Mrs Mary Gillian Asare Addo, said that the event was to recognise and award teachers for their contributions towards the improvement of education standards in the district.
She expressed concern that there were more children of school age who were not in school in the district and, therefore, urged parents to help put such children in school.
2013 BECE results
She indicated that the district scored 40 per cent in the 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE), saying that her outfit would ensure that the performance level improved in the 2014 examinations.
She bemoaned the lack of teacher accommodation, which compels most of the teachers to travel long distances before getting to school, and added that it was affecting teaching and learning in the affected schools.
The Agona East District Chief Executive, Mr Martin Luther Obeng, expressed concern about the falling standard of education in the district.
He stated that Agona East placed 128th in the 2013 BECE.
He acknowledged that teachers were doing their best but a lot more commitment and dedication was needed from them to help reverse the current trend.
He appealed to chiefs in the area to enact bye-laws that would prevent children from going out at night to help improve the standard of education in the district.