Reconsider in-Service training for newly trained teachers- Awuni

Mrs Lucy Awuni, Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, has appealed to the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to consider organizing in-service training for newly trained teachers.

She called on major stakeholders in the education sector to reconsider strategic and efficient in-service training for newly trained teachers, as some teachers she had encountered in recent times had difficulties teaching different subjects at the basic level.

Mrs Awuni made the appeal during the launch and distribution of supplementary reading books written by some members of GNAT to be used in some districts in the Upper East Region.

The effort was initiated by GNAT in collaboration with the Pan African Teachers Centre and the Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) to encourage teachers in the Northern and Upper East Regions to write books to supplement existing ones.

She called on teachers to read wide to acquaint themselves with the current teaching technique to enable them change the falling standards of education at the basic level.

She however commended the teachers who had taken time to write the books and called for strict monitoring and supervision by teachers to ensure that the books are maintained and used for the purposes for which they were written.

Mr Joseph Bakpata Abu, Northern Regional Secretary of GNAT, said the association as a mouth piece of teachers and as a major stakeholder in the education sector ensures that quality education is provided to pupils in the country.

He said the books were the first batch to be distributed to some districts in the region and that they covered issues on the environment, social, culture and traditions of Northern Ghana and other parts of the country.

The Upper East Regional Chairman of GNAT, Mr Steven Gebute, commended the Kassena Nankana East, Bongo and West Mamprusi Districts for collectively funding the publication of the supplementary reading materials for basic schools.

He said GNAT would be organizing a science workshop for female teachers in the Bawku West District after which they would be provided with science equipment to help them in the teaching of science at the various schools.

Mr Paul Apanga, Upper East Regional Director of Education, said educational systems throughout the world were undergoing transformation to meet the needs and demands of the digital world specifically the knowledge based economies.

He said, for the nation to develop there was need for individuals especially pupils to cultivate the habit of reading.

“Knowledge and skill has become the global engine for the 21st century” he said, and called on teachers to acquaint themselves with the changing trend of the education system.

One of the writers, Mr Asumbunu Moses Nyaba, said there had been a series of concerns about the need to get practical reading books for basic schools to tell the Ghanaian and African story.

His book, “When the drum beat changes” depicts the intricacies of some traditional and African leaders to embrace change in their society.

In all, 6000 books published by six different authors drawn from various districts were distributed to the Kassena Nankana East, Bongo and West Mamprusi Districts.**