Accra Metro award prizes to deserving teachers

Accra, Sept 6, GNA- Mrs Rose Ankrah, the Accra Metropolitan Director of Education on Saturday urged the government to widen the net of best teacher award scheme to cover all levels in the national, regional and district directorates.

She said the scheme should be categorised into two, one for teachers in the deprived rural areas and another to those in urban centres to enable all deserving teachers to get the motivation to do their best.

"We are saying that, there is no point giving so much to put up a house and cars to some two people out of the tens of thousands of teachers in the country", Mrs Ankrah said at the award ceremony of the Accra Metro Directorate held at the Children's park in Accra. Both teachers and non-teaching staffs who have excelled in their fields at the Primary, Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary levels were presented with electrical appliances including television sets, fridges and radio cassette players.

Other stakeholders, including members of Parliament, Parents Teacher Associations (PTAs) and Supervisors of Basic Education Certificates Examination (BECE), were also acknowledged and presented with certificates and parcels for their active participation in the education sector.

Mrs Ankrah described the best teacher award scheme as "one good thing that has happened to teachers of this country', adding, over the past few years a lot has been done to improve the lot of the Ghanaian teacher".

She however, noted that there was more room for improvement so the need for government to take a critical look at the way the whole scheme was being managed, adding "the current award scheme seemed to be skewed in favour of teachers in the rural, deprived, underserved and disadvantaged areas".

She commended the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for its continuous assistance in the area of infrastructure and funds to schools in the metropolis.

She again commended the Volta River Authority (VRA) for donating some energy-saving bulbs to the award programme. Reverend Ama Afo Blay, Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) commended the recipients for their hard work and urged other colleagues to emulate their example in order to bring out the best in Ghanaian children.

She said though education is now accessible in all parts of the country, there still remains a lot to be done about the quality of education being offered to children. Rev Blay called on teachers to redouble their efforts and accept postings to deprived areas.

Mr Solomon Ofei Darko, Chief Executive Officer of the AMA assured the directorate of the Assembly's support in sustaining quality education through teacher motivation.

Mrs Vida Drapson, Greater Accra Regional Director of Education also praised government and society for appreciating and rewarding teachers "on earth and not in heaven where a teacher might not even have the chance to go ".

Among the MPs who received awards were, Madam Theresa Amarley Tagoe, MP for Ablekuma South, Mr Eddie Akita, MP for Ledzokuku, Mr Niibi Ayibote MP for Odododiodioo, Mr Ako Nai, MP for Dadekotopon, and Mr Kwamena Bartels, Ablekuma North, for their various assistance to the development of education in the Metropolis. 06 Sept 03