Education Of Children Is Teachers ' Task'

The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ms Benedicta Naana Biney, has reminded teachers that they are entrusted with the responsibility for educating the future leaders of this country.

She said GES and private school operators shared a collaborative responsibility to assist and support the upbringing of children entrusted into their care.

Ms Biney made this statement at the Speech and Prize-Giving day of the Tweenies Montessori School at Weija, near Accra .

She said the theme, 'Educating the Child: A Collective Responsibility', calls for support from the hardworking teachers who were committed and dedicated to the growth of education and welfare of the Ghanaian child.

'Over the years, however, the value systems have changed and changed dramatically to the extent that today, we know that education does not necessarily commence with the alphabet, it may begin with a mother's look, a father's nod of approbation or a sign of reproof, with a sister's gentle pressure applied to the hand, or a brother’s noble act of forbearance,' she said.

The Deputy Director of the GES added that such change automatically required a commensurate change in the competencies and communal efforts of all - administrators, teachers, students, the school's board and, most importantly, the parents.

She says basic education is very critical to the development of the nation, because the early days of formal education placed a lot of emphasis on the three Rs.

“At that time, that was all that the colonial masters required to facilitate their trading transactions in the then Gold Coast, and so that was their focus,” she added.

She encouraged parents to invest in their children’s education, not just with money but with energy and enthusiasm, commitment and concern, focus and intensity, adding that it is the only strategy that can jump-start the development of their children.

The Headmaster of the school, Mr Symon E. Okomeng, in his welcoming address, urged staff and pupils of the school to cultivate self-discipline, determination, hand work, honesty and the fear of God in order to achieve intellectual excellence.

He appealed to parents to consider payment of their wards fees as a priority in order not to disrupt their children’s studies.