Akufo-Addo: ‘Teachers will be pivotal in Ghana’s development agenda’

At the President’s Independence Day Awards Ceremony held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, for high achievers in the 2016 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), President Akufu-Addo is reported to have stated: “…Teaching will no longer be a stop-gap measure or a job of last resort but a viable choice to enter a well-paid and well-respected profession with long term career prospects and good benefits.”

If President Akufu-Addo sincerely and truly believes in the statement above, then I can assure Ghanaians that he has got the magic wand to take Ghana to the status of a DEVELOPED COUNTRY in 8 years. All the ministers of Education must pay special attention to the president’s statement when making any decisions about teachers.

Well-trained and dedicated teachers are the PILLARS of education. Well-trained and dedicated teachers are the PILLARS of TRUE democracy.

To help the President get the type of Teachers Ghana needs, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) must get involved in ensuring that all its members are really certified and competent individuals. Regulations must be put in place to get rid of unqualified incompetent FAKE teachers. The National Association of Graduate Teachers must also take similar steps to get rid of incompetent people, who pretend or claim to be professional teachers.

The notion that anyone who can read and write can be a teacher should be critically examined. Good teachers must have some inherent characteristics: 1 Desire to get involved in life-long professional development after getting the basic certification.

2 Desire to help students to explore and acquire relevant knowledge.

3 Patience to deal with all types of learners (high achievers as well as those with special needs).

4 Patience to deal with all types of parents (especially at the early childhood level).

Getting well qualified teachers and paying them respectable salaries is just one part of the equation to provide good education for Ghanaian students. The other IMPORTANT PART of the equation is to provide the tools, materials and suitable conditions to encourage learning to take place.

At the early childhood and primary levels, suitable classrooms with appropriate furniture must be available. Appropriate audio visual aids must be available to enable the teacher to create the environment for the students to explore and learn. Computers have now become an important tool in education. At the secondary level, well equipped laboratories are needed for effective instruction.

As a science teacher in Opoku Ware School in the 1960’s, I can testify that the school had ALL the facilities for providing a first class secondary school education for the students. The three science laboratories (Physics, Biology and Chemistry) had all the equipment and materials needed for effective instruction up to the sixth form level. The laboratory assistants, Mr. Robert Mensah and Mr. Eyeson were top level specialists in their jobs. The conditions enabled the teachers (Mr. Afful – Physic, Mr. Sekyi –Biology, Fr. Klaver – Chemistry) to produce high achieving students. No wonder that many Opoku Ware Students (Akatakyie) graduated in Agriculture, Dentistry, Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy etc. in famous Universities all over the world.

When I accepted a teaching job in Canada in 1968, I expected to work in laboratories similar to or better than those in Opoku Ware School. I was greatly disappointed to find out that the facilities in H. A. Kostash High School in Smoky Lake, Alberta was by far inferior to what I was used to in Ghana. The single room designated as the Science Laboratory had just one demonstration table, a sink and just one Bunsen burner outlet. Many of the equipment available were quite old. There was no laboratory assistant. My first year of teaching in Canada was a real challenge. I was forced to apply the teacher demonstration type of teaching as I experienced in St. Augustine’s Secondary School in the 1950’s. Students did not participate in lab work . I had to improvise a lot to be able to teach science effectively.

The main PURPOSE of this article is to draw the attention of the government (ESPECIALLY THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION) to the FACT that qualified teachers can only perform well if they are provided with the right tools in the right environment. It is important to let Ghanaian citizens realize that good education is expensive and so they must be prepared to pay at least part of the expenses involved.

Developing countries should realize that without reliable and efficient professional teaching Associations, their chances of ever reaching the “DEVELOPED STATUS” are ZERO.

God Bless the Teaching Profession and all dedicated teachers !!!