"Investigate background of applicants to teacher training colleges"

Mankessim (C/R), Dec. 7. GNA - Miss Vivian Etroo, Mfantseman District Director of Education, has suggested to principals of teacher training colleges to investigate the background of applicants before admitting them into their institutions.

"All applicants should be made to produce testimonials from their former schools for the authorities to be sure that they are not recruiting questionable characters into the teaching profession." Miss Etroo said: "Our desire to produce teachers to fill vacancies in the schools should not compel us to entrust our future leaders into the hands of hooligans."

Her comment was in reaction to the unruly behaviour of some teachers in the District who attended a workshop on the use of HIV/AIDS manual in schools.

The four-day workshop was sponsored by the HIV/AIDS secretariat of the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Danish Fund for International Development (DFID) the World Bank and the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC). About 510 teachers drawn from junior secondary schools in the Mfantseman District were given training on how to integrate HIV/AIDS into other lessons on the time table.

Miss Etroo reminded the teachers that their promotions would be based on the appraisal of their work as well as their behaviour and advised them to comport themselves at all times.