Teacher Training Institutions Urged To Produce Specialised KG Teachers

The Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District Director of Education, Ms Rebecca Araba Neizer has called on teacher training institutions to produce professionals who are specialised in teaching at the Kindergarten (KG).

Ms Neizer said the Kindergarten constitutes the foundation of the new education reform programme hence it was necessary to train special teachers to give the required attention to children in their formative years.

'Poor attention can kill the interest of children and endanger their education,' Ms Neizer stated at a training workshop for KG teachers in the AAK district at Abura Dunkwa in the central Region

She said out of 140 teachers teaching in KG in the district, only 15 of them were trained professionals. 'This is not good enough,' She added.

The District Director commended Plan Ghana, a child-centred community development Non-Governmental body, for financing the workshop and appealed to other organisations to facilitate the upgrading of the teachers.

Plan Ghana has supported the district with infrastructure, stationery, uniforms for needy children and scholarships for needy children. It has also supported the district education directorate to intensify its supervisory role and monitoring in schools.

Mr Job Acquah Markin, District Chief Executive, expressed dissatisfaction about the level of education in the district and exhorted teachers to be 'up and doing.' He urged teachers to make KG a continuation of the child's home. 'You should make it so interesting that the child would always want to be there.'

Mr Jacob Turkson, Mankessim Programme Area Manager of Plan Ghana, said his organisation would continue to improve quality of education in its sponsored schools. 'We are aware that the nice school buildings we have provided will be meaningless if the children are unable to pass their Basic Education Certificate Examination and further their education.'

Mr Turkson announced Plan Ghana's decision to support the district in the Best Teacher Award Scheme and also in the Performance Monitoring Test to form the basis for assessing performance in schools.