My heart was very saddened and troubled when I read this article dated July 23, 2008 about the conduct of some teachers in some school districts in our beloved Country. According to the article, this was the outcome of a research conducted by a group called Center for Democratic Development (CDD) I am certain that many well meaning Ghanaians who have had the opportunity to read this article would be startled and confused as well. No wonder there was this abysmal performance of our children in the recent BECE results.
I am hoping that these members of this noble profession would find a proper way to rebut these allegations in order to avert the negative slur which is hanging on their necks and that of their district of operation as well as the teaching profession in Ghana in general.
Considering the fact that the sample might not be a good representation of the three districts, we should be mindful that its authenticity would not be far from the published results. We should still be worried about the staggering numbers given by the researchers, 47%? , this number is just 3% shy of 50%, which is ½ of 100. At a point, we are told that the percentage even moves up to 57% for the professional teachers against their non professional counterparts, this is incredible.
In order not to bore you with the sad story about the future of our poor children presented in the article again, I want to pause here and ask about what might the causing this absenteeism on the part of our teachers and their Para- professional and the possible ways of dealing with that.
First of all, we are all in agreement that things happen. Most of these teachers have families and loved ones who also demand their attention and support, therefore in spite of how hard a teacher might try to be present and punctual, he or she might fall into such category of being pulled apart. The hard economic situation which is hovering over the air around us is also forcing most professionals to neglect their code of ethics which was read to them and with a copy in hand during their graduation. In some cases, we hear that teachers are not being paid for some time while at post teaching. This has also contributed in some way to the truancy of these teachers.
Nevertheless, however tangible these reasons might sound, I doubt the fact that all these teachers who were surveyed had all the above problems all the time. Even if it is so, that do not give them the audacity to stay out of school at the expense of these poor students. I think there should be a very good way of dealing with these and other problems that were cited for the truancy. As teachers, we should be mindful of the fact that we are the educators of the future, and posterity will not pardon us if we do not live up to the societal expectation. Therefore we should avoid, if possible any destruction in our way in an attempt to perform our duties. We should be mindful of the fact that we have been entrusted with such tender and spongy brains that are anxiously waiting on us to fill their minds with something to help them function as productive members of our society, given them the tool to make their mark on the earth they once trod .
Many lives are being lost as the days go by, and these could be blamed on the conduct of some teachers for the way they interacted with such children who needed them the most. It is hard time teachers re-defined their commitment to the noble profession they have chosen to be part of.
Teachers should also be chary of the fact that the parents who have entrusted their children into their care demand their respect and admiration. As Ghanaians, most of us are aware of the painful sacrifices that some parents have to go through in an attempt to educate their wards. Therefore there is the need to consider the hopes and aspirations of these parents before taking any of our egocentric action(s). We might be right in our actions, but let us give them the due respect. They are anxiously counting on us to help bring up the knowledge of their children, therefore they become sad and depressed as taxpayers as well as parents when the y hear that we are not doing our part.
During our 50th independence celebrations, people were comparing the country with other countries like Indonesia and Singapore which had their independence the same year or close to that of ours. How do we expect the country to move forward while denying our children of the needed knowledge and the tools to advance? We should know that, as teachers, we hold the future in our hands and we can not afford to stay out of school and expect our children to flourish, far from it. I am hoping that this is not a national problem, where a lot of paid teaching professionals are staying out of class.
Who should be blamed for these horrible findings? I think we all have a role to play to make the life of a teacher more meaningful in order to prevent them from citing a rationale to stay out of class at the expense of our children. First the government, then the people in authority, in this case, the headmaster/teacher, and the teachers themselves should all be held accountable for their actions.
On the part of the government, I have been trying for sometime now to fathom how a government agency responsible for educating the populace would totally fail to remunerate the very people they have hired to work. This is slavery in a way, people! No one from the said department can assert that the graduation of such professionals took them by surprise, and that it happened overnight. This has been going on for far too long. Yet we cry that the teachers are not doing what they are supposed to do. This is like what we read from the good old book about tying the mouth of the animal that ploughs the field, this is immoral and inhumane on the part of those who are in charge. In the interest of our children and the future of our nation, please let us set our priorities right and keep the teaching and learning process afloat.
It is high time the headmasters/ teachers were given the muscle to withhold the salaries of such teachers who willfully stay out of class under the pretence of these trivial reasons; however, this can not be fruitful until the heads behave themselves. In the research, some head teachers were cited as being amongst the mass. How can such leaders enforce the disciplinary actions of the school? We are all trying to help to uphold the good name of Ghana, let us do all we can do attain the goal. News of head teachers leaving school early and working on their farms and doing their own business while collecting their salaries is earful now. We need to be a bit sacrificial in our effort to attaining such levels of the advance countries; education is the key to that.
To those teachers who are part of this finding, I hope you are going to bury your heads in total shame. For some, there may be legitimate reasons for being absent; however, I believe most teachers are at fault of this anomaly. Until we consciously take note of the damage we are doing to our children and our country, we would not be able to straighten our deeds. It is time we put self aside and help our country grow.
Some ways to reduce, if not prevent these unnecessary absenteeism and tardiness would be allowing the teachers sick days and personal days in course of the school year. As it is the practice of many countries, the teachers would then be using their own days to do their errands but not at the tax payers expense. I am hopeful that we can do better, let us try to educate our children who are the future of our nation. Others have done it, so can we.
By Samuel Buabeng (New Jersey)
