SONA, WHAT IS THE FATE OF THE GHANAIAN TEACHER? – Educate Ghana Summit.

By:brightwebtv.com/Martin awuku

It would interest one to know that the fate of the Ghanaian teacher is not steady. The State of the Nation’s Address (SONA) presented by the first gentleman of the country, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo on the 21st day of February, 2019 depicts what the education sector would receive.

Interestingly, it was captured in it that, the education sector, “in September 2019, would see a new standards-based curriculum being rolled out from kindergarten to primary class six (6). This curriculum was drawn upon the best practices from all over the world, and will focus on making Ghanaian children confident, innovative, creative-thinking, digitally-literate, well rounded, patriotic citizens”.

I hereby want to reiterate that, those educational policies cannot be achieved if the government of the day fails to commend the strenuous efforts of the teachers who are the policy implementors.

Another aspect to consider is the well being of teachers. Their condition of services and devising scholarship packages for them.

Obviously, the salary increment of teachers does not reflect lucratively in the dear lives of Ghanaian teachers. This is so, because, as salaries increase, taxes also increase in the same direction. This is “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

Succinctly, Ghanaian teachers must be given the motivation in order to ginger them and make them highly spirited in carrying out their duties professionally to raise high the image of this country, Ghana. The part of the address on the education sector which states that, “a well-motivated and remunerated teacher is at the centre of our quality education and comprehensive teacher policy,” makes sense but ought not to be coded and discarded.

Also, some teachers whose salaries have been in arrears since time immemorial, have still not received them. Governments have come and gone yet nothing seems to fume prolifically. Victims of such circumstance live in total agony since the thought of that cannot be eroded from their minds. We urge government to consider paying salary arrears of teachers a paramount because teachers who are victims, are aggrieved and might also not put up their best in assisting the young ones to realize their dreams.

It was again stated in the address that, “many teachers who completed the three-year Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) at colleges of Education, can go ahead to do a two-year top-up first degree, by distance learning, at the University of Cape Coast”. This is laudable and good to hear but the fees payable to pursue programmes or courses at the Universitas is high at its peak. There should therefore be a moderate fees payment for teachers in order to commensurate the meagre salary as they pursue their programmes.

Candidly speaking, Mr. President, Ghanaian teachers are not well-motivated but always suffer insults, harassments and humiliations. The question still remains, where are the teachers’ glory for teaching through improvisation, as far as, sometimes feeding some children at school from their meager salaries? We all know that it is not the core responsibility of a teacher to buy Teaching and Learning Materials(TLMs) to deliver lessons in the classroom but what do we see?. Mr. President, the free education is better but teachers are tired of teaching with improvised materials especially at the public basic school level.

The long and short of it all is, teachers should be given the best conditions of service to aid progression in their lives and our educational sector. Currently, there’s no hope for Ghanaian teachers. ” if you can read this, thank a teacher”.

Educate Ghana Summit is therefore drawing government’s attention to considering teachers as vehicles to achieving quality education in our country and that, they must receive their rewards as such!

Source:brightwebtv.com/Martin awuku