The Director General of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) at the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom has stressed the need for government and stakeholders to support efforts at improving the living and working conditions of Ghanaian teachers.
His comments follow an appeal by the Registrar of the National Teaching Council, Dr Christian Addai-Poku to government and other stakeholders to put in place the right measures to control the high attrition rate in Ghana’s education sector.
While speaking on the first day of a two-day symposium ahead of the 2023 Ghana Teacher Prize Award held on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at Takoradi in the Western Region, the Registrar stated that early this year a little over 16,000 Ghanaian teachers applied to the Department of Education in the UK for employment.
He said by June 13 2023, 10,000 of the applicants with Ghana Teacher Licenses had been certified to work in the UK without any further assessment (qualified teacher status test) by the UK government.
This, he believes might pose a great threat towards the future of the nation’s education and development.
Meanwhile, speaking to ATL FM NEWS on October 5, 2023, as the world marked World Teacher’s Day, Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom emphasized that “teachers deserve all the support they need to help us achieve our goal of developing the teacher we need for the education we want in Ghana.”
He however urged teachers to continue to live exemplary lives and build positive relationships with their students as they discharge their duties.
“I believe that teaching as a profession is a call and a vocation and to this end, I encourage all teachers in Ghana to live by example and be role models in all their engagements.”
He added that because learners’ and students’ characteristics have changed over time, every teacher should attempt to closely know his or her students so that they can effectively meet their needs.
Since 1994, the world has joined hands on every October 5 to celebrate how teachers across the globe are transforming education.
The celebration has been serving as a platform to think about the support teachers need to fully deploy their talent and vocation.
During the celebration, the global community also rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.
The theme for the 2023 World Teacher Day celebration is “The Teacher We Need for the Education We Want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage.”
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Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
