O.B Amoah to sponsor Best Teacher Award in Akuapem South

The Member of Parliament for the Aburi-Nsawam constituency, Osei Bonsu Amoah, Friday expressed concerns about the inability of the Akuapem South Municipal Directorate of Education to hold its Best Teacher Award ceremony for the past four years.

He noted that the situation could serve as a disincentive for teachers in the area, and therefore called on the Municipal Assembly to collaborate with the relevant stakeholders to rectify the situation.

Mr Amoah pledged to sponsor two years of the backlog and called on the Assembly to also sponsor the other two years, adding: “It is not right to fail to recognise the sacrifices our teachers are making to provide education for our children, to prepare them as future leaders, and we therefore don't have any excuse not to honour them.”

The MP was speaking at a ceremony in Nsawam where he presented 120 sets of duel desks and 28 computers to the Municipal Directorate of Education for distribution to some selected schools in the area. He also presented a set of jerseys and football to the Ghana National Association of Teachers' football team in the Municipality.

The donation formed part of Mr Amoah,s effort at tackling the deplorable furniture situation in schools in his constituency and to promote ICT education.

Making the presentation, the MP expressed concern about the poor state of educational infrastructure in the area and pledged his unflinching support to tackling the problem.

He commended the Municipal Directorate of Education, teachers, parents and students in the area for their contribution towards the Municipality's record of coming tops in the 2011 Basic Education Certificate Examination.

“While commending all the stakeholders, let me stress that we now have a higher responsibility of at least maintaining this enviable record of 74% pass if not improving upon it this year and the years ahead. I am convinced that with all of us working together, we will be able to raise the standard of education in our schools and we cannot do this without the requisite educational infrastructure and resources,” he noted.

Mr Amoah particularly stressed the urgent need to give priority attention to ICT education, especially the practical training, adding: “we need to invest heavily in ICT education so that our children will be able to compete favourably with their counterparts from the well-endowed schools and also be abreast of global happenings.”

Receiving the donation, Stella Nanor, Akuapem South Municipal Director of Education, lauded the MP for his commitment to the promotion of education in his constituency.

Mrs Nanaor described education as the engine of growth in any human society and called for a collaborative effort among stakeholders to provide the requisite infrastructure and resources needed to improve education delivery in the area.

She expressed worry about the deplorable furniture situation in schools in the area, as well as the absence of textbooks needed for effective teaching and learning, and called on the authorities to come to the aid of the Municipality.