Review criteria for the selection of the best teacher - DCE

Jasikan, Oct.14, GNA - Mr Solomon Kwame Donkor, Jasikan District Chief Executive (DCE) on Thursday called for a review of the criteria for the selection of best teachers to have positive impact on standards and performance in the country.

He described the selection procedure as cosmetic, which should give way to a more prudent and result oriented procedures to raise standards and motivate others.

Mr Donkor made the call when addressing the fourth general assembly meeting of the Jasikan District Assembly at Jasikan. He suggested that awards for the best teacher should take the performance of students at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) into consideration because the awards in the past had failed to improve on the perennial cycle of falling educational standards in the country.

The DCE regretted that schools in the district performed abysmally in this year's BECE obtaining 44.5 per cent despite the support provided by the Assembly and Government to improve on standards. Mr Donkor observed that the district could boast of improved educational facilities and infrastructure, logistics and personnel than districts that had made remarkable improvement in performance and standards.

He therefore, called for a stakeholders' meeting to brainstorm on the way forward to improve on education standards in the district. On the human resource development, Mr Donkor said about 144 million cedis sponsorship packages had been spent on 66 teachers and 11 health personnel to augment the reduction in professionals in the district. He said the assembly had estimated to spend about 542 million cedis on the Circuit Court building, 682 million cedis on the rehabilitation of the DCE's residence, while an agreement had been signed with the German Technical Development (GTZ) to provide potable water to Kwamikrom and Bodada communities under the Small Towns Water project. Mr Kwasi Bandua, Member of Parliament for Biakoye urged parents to invest in the education of their children and asked Ghana Education Service to strengthen its monitoring and supervisory roles. Mr Ford Kamel, Member of Parliament for Buem appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to review laws and structures that were affecting achievements in the decentralization process.

He said many impositions and other conditions required from the MLGRD were making mockery of the decentralization process.