We will produce students who are walking dead bodies if government fails to motivate teachers – Lecturer

Samuel Ziggah, a lecturer and psychologist, has urged the government to motivate teachers so they will help develop and transform our students at all levels.

He bemoaned the government's lack of commitment to motivate teachers to do their best.

Using the current strike action by the various teacher unions as an example, he said the government does not show any interest in the welfare of teachers, has failed to provide them with the needed logistics for them to work with, and yet expects them to train refined students.

He warned that if care is not taken, we will train walking dead bodies.

Commenting on the one-student, one-tablet policy, he said it is good to invest in smart learning.

However, if the teachers who teach the students do not have laptops or tablets to enhance teaching and learning, why hand them over to students?

"There was a need to build the capacity of the teachers so they would have the skills needed to teach the students. If you don't build the capacity of the teachers so they will later help the students, the policy will be a waste; the tablets will be destroyed, and we will have to pump in more money to buy new ones.

I want to state on record that if the teachers are not motivated and given the needed support and resources to work with, we will be producing students who are walking dead bodies. The students will go through the system and end up with no skills or knowledge.

The walking dead bodies mean that the students are ignorant and yet expect to be all-knowing, and so they will graduate as empty students despite the number of years they spent in our schools," he said.

He made the remarks while speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5 FM with host Kwabena Agyapong.

He said if medical doctors had embarked on a strike, everyone would have asked the government to address the issue so their actions wouldn't impact our health system.

However, when teachers strike, the government does not care or see the need to address the issues.