Kwaebibirem DCE says education is his priority

Kade, July 7, GNA - Mr George Agyemang-Duah, the Kwaebibirem District Chief Executive, says education is a priority on his agenda and he would ensure that greater attention is given to its advancement. He said it was his dream that in the next few years, basic schools in the area would record much improved results.

Opening the third Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Kwaebibirem branch of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at Kade, Mr Agyemang-Duah said in fulfillment of that dream he recognized the teacher as the key tool to move that agenda forward. In that regard, he would soon start to put in place measures to ensure that teachers were duly recognized and rewarded. He said "frantic efforts will be made to boost the morale of teachers in the district".

Mr Agyemang-Duah said in as much as education was the key to the development of every nation, sight should not be lost of the enormous contributions of teachers to the socio-economic development of the country.

He described teachers as the driving force in achieving the success of the education sector and said the nation was proud of them. Mr Prince Nimako, District GNAT Chairman, congratulated teachers in the district for their hand work, noting that in 2008, Kwaebibirem placed 16th in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in the whole of Ghana and second to New Juaben in the Eastern Region. He said it was necessary to motivate teachers to contribute more effectively and efficiently to the task of human capital formation. "Lack of motivation in the form of poor salaries or working conditions can lead to absenteeism, reduced performance in the classroom," he said. Mr Nimako described a frustrated or ill-motivated teacher in the classroom as a "virus" in the knowledge dissemination chain.

The Eastern Regional Vice Chairman of GNAT, Nana Addo Gyau Akabisa II, said a professional teacher should be equipped with skills and latest trends in education delivery to understand the past, the present and have insight into the future.