body-container-line-1
07.09.2005 General News

C'ttee to work out incentive package for teachers

07.09.2005 LISTEN
By GNA

Tamale, Sept. 7, GNA - The Government has set up a three-man committee to work out incentive package for teachers. Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Education and Sports addressing the opening session of the 47th Annual Conference of Principals of Teacher Training College (PRINCOF) at Tamale on Tuesday, said the package would include provision of vehicles on hire purchase on the same basis as health professionals.
The theme for the week-long Conference was: "Teacher Training as the hub of Education Reforms in Ghana-The Way Forward."
The Conference would discuss matters affecting the development and progress of Teacher Education, formulate new strategies and update their approach to Teacher Education to meet the country's needs.
He said teacher training was crucial and indispensable in human resource development because the socio-economic development in any country depended largely on the quality of its manpower development. Mr Osafo-Maafo said the quality of education would determine the quality of professionals whose individual and collective expertise would determine the quality and pace of development in the country.
The Minister of Education and Sports, said the Ministry in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) had instituted measures through continuous and well-coordinated pre-service and in-service training to empower teachers and keep them abreast with current trends and techniques in subjects they teach. "There are many teachers who cannot handle Mathematics, Science and English Language in the Upper Primary and the Junior Secondary School levels."
"We are therefore, faced with the task of raising the competencies of many teachers to increase their levels of commitment," he said.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the Government had adopted a strategy to improve teaching and learning in basic schools under the new educational reforms.
These are the establishment of Mathematics and Science Colleges in some selected Teacher Training Colleges in each of the 10 regions to train teachers to strengthen the teaching of these subjects in order to strengthen the country's science and technology development. Mr. Osafo-Maafo said with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Ministry and the GES the programme for in-service teacher training would be completed in 2006 and implemented in 2007.
He announced that Teachers Diploma in Basic Education Programme for teachers without the basic training in teaching would begin in deprived districts in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions in October this year. Central, Western, Eastern, Volta and Greater Accra Regions would be catered for in the third and fourth phases.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo said the Government had contracted ORDINA B.V. of the Netherlands to establish computer laboratories in all the 38 public Teacher Training Colleges to enhance teaching and learning. In addition, he said the Government was making efforts to provide core textbooks to make teaching and learning attractive for teachers and students this year.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo said the Government had ordered buses for Training Colleges and procure vehicles for Principals to ease transportation problems facing them.
He called on the Principals to instill discipline in the students, adding: "any Principal who compromises on discipline does not deserve to be appointed to that position." 07 Sept.05


body-container-line