Minister urges teachers to foster peace in Northern Region

The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, has called on teachers to act as ambassadors of peace by using their professional knowledge to advocate the need to deepen peace in the region for economic development.

He made the call during the opening of the 5th Quadrennial Regional Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Tamale.

The two-day event attended by stakeholders in education in the region was held under the theme: “Transforming Societies through Education in the Northern Region: Stakeholder Commitment, A pre-requisite for Agenda 2030.”

Mr Saeed urged teachers to use their influence in the communities to help foster peace among all in the region. He said teenage pregnancy has become a canker in the educational sector and urged teachers to engage parents, chiefs and opinion leaders to find lasting solutions to the situation.

He also urged teachers to sensitize children to be assertive to stand up and defend themselves against any form of sexual harassment. Alhaji Mohammed Haroun, Northern Regional Director of Education, warned teachers to desist from extortion and bribery saying the Ghana Education Service (GES) would not spare teachers who indulged in the practice.

Madam Philippa Larsen, Acting Vice President of GNAT, called on teachers to perform their duties with diligence and act in accordance with professional standards of GNAT for the good of the education sector.

Madam Larsen said the decision to licence teachers in the country is now a policy but its implementation modalities are yet to be spelt out.

Dr Edward Salifu Mahama, Research Officer at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and Consultancy Service at the University for Development Studies, urged teachers to engage themselves to provide accessible, flexible and reliable tuition that would aid the implementation of the free Senior High School (SHS) programme.