GES Director-General supports schools in Birim South to mark birthday
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, has donated a large quantity of textbooks, note books and exercise books to the Birim South District in the Eastern Region.
Presentation
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Also included in the donation are large quantities of pens, pencils and erasers.
The books cover kindergarten, primary and junior high schools and senior high schools (SHSs), with those for SHSs covering both core and elective subjects, as well as reading books.
Apart from the donation, which is worth over GH¢57,000, he also donated seed money of GH¢30,000 for a fund to be managed by the Eastern Regional education directorate to be disbursed to teachers in the district as motivation to get them to go the extra mile.
In addition, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa has also pledged 10 per cent of his monthly salary, after tithe, towards the motivation of teachers to organise extra classes for pupils and students in the district.
The donation, which formed part of activities marking his 59th birthday, seeks to support teachers in the district to give of their best to help improve learning outcomes.
Some students admiring some of the books
Presenting the books, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said he was committed to seeing the standards of education in the district improved.
Teacher motivation
He said every year, on his birthday, he selected a project to support, mostly in the area of education.
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said the support, especially that for teachers. was in recognition of the important role of teachers in the learning equation.
He said the motivation fund was to ensure that teachers who “go the extra mile to ensure that the children attain the level that we desire are motivated.”
Asked when the 10 per cent donation would end, he said: “As long as I earn income and pay my tithe.”
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained that the 10 per cent was part of the GH¢30,000 seed fund he established.
Gratitude
Receiving the items, the Birim South District Director of Education, Henry Theodore Sintim, said he was excited because the donation was rare in the area, saying, “It is not everyone who celebrates his or her birthday by donating learning materials to the district.”
He expressed gratitude to the director-general for the kind gesture to support the improvement of learning outcomes in the district.
Mr Sintim used the opportunity to appeal to the director-general to help ensure that more teachers were posted to the district.
“One thing that worries us in the district is the low number of teachers,” he told the director-general.
For his part, the Birim South District Chief Executive, Asare Danso, said the magnitude of the donation and the intention were much appreciated.
He said setting up the motivation fund to support teachers meant that Prof. Opoku-Amankwa had good intentions for children in the area and people in general.
Mr Danso prayed that God should prolong Prof. Opoku-Amankwa’s life for him to continue to show love to mankind.