10 Finalists of Ghana Teacher Prize announced

The National Teaching Council (NTC) has announced the top 10 finalists for the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) slated for October 5, 2019.

The 10 were selected from an initial 50 shortlisted teachers following a competitive selection exercise that was carried out throughout the country.

Top 10 nominees

They are Ms Philippa Darko of the Experimental M/A Kindergarten, Kumasi; Charrald Bibi Kolevi of the Awanano Model D/A School, Shama; Christiana Koperebarah Yeyeh of the Yumba Special School for the Intellectually Disabled; Clement Assou of the Ofori Panin Senior High School (SHS) and Ishmael Iddris of the Asanteman D/A JHS at Bia in the Western Region.

The rest are Mark Cofie of the Kanton SHS, Tumu; Munkaila Alhassan of the Ghana Muslim Mission SHS, Sekyere Central, Ashanti Region; Ms Sabina Koba Dosu of St Dominic R/C Basic School, Akwatia; Serlom Kwabena Gyimah of Brewianiase M/A Primary ‘A’, Nkwanta-South, Volta Region and Theodosia Larkai Oppong of the Aburi Girls’ SHS, Aburi.

This year’s ceremony is on the theme: “Young teachers: The future of the profession”

Most outstanding

Out of the 10, one of them will win the ultimate prize in Ghana known as the Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year, and be rewarded with a three-bedroom house.

Announcing the top 10 teachers for consideration yesterday at the launch of the Teacher Prize in Accra, the Board Chairman of the NTC, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Simpson, explained that the names were mentioned in no specific order.

He said it was among them that the Outstanding Teacher would be picked and that it could be any of them.
Prof. Nyarko-Simpson lauded the work of teachers in the country, saying the ceremony was in recognition of their hard work.

Teacher reforms

The Acting Executive Secretary of the NTC, Mr Christian Addai-Poku, said the choice of the theme was quite significant to the ideals of the Ministry of Education and particularly the NTC as “we pursue various teacher reforms with fervour to professionalise teaching.

“Indeed, the NTC has been set up by Act 778 to make this happen. As we vigorously pursue this agenda of teacher professionalism, it is also important that as a nation, we do our best to improve the lot of teachers and accord them their proper status in society. One of such means to acknowledge the pivotal role of teachers is the institutionalisation of the GTP,” Mr Addai-Poku said.

He said the awards were mainly financed by the government of Ghana and philanthropic organisations that highly valued education.

He paid glowing tribute to all organisations which had offered to help make the programme a success, stating that some organisations had already made “wonderful contributions while others have given us their pledges to come on board before October 5”.

“We implore all organisations and individuals who desire to support the awards to contact the National Teaching Council at their convenience but before October 5,” he said.

Sponsors

The sponsors of this year’s ceremony include Prudential Bank Ltd, which donated a double-cabin 4x4 pickup, GLICO Pension, which is providing a saloon car for the second runner-up, while Databank will also provide a saloon car.

Other sponsors are GCB Bank Star Oil Ltd, SIC Life Company Ltd, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), EPP Bookshop and VIDYA Bookstore.

Awardees

This year’s ceremony seeks to honour outstanding teachers for their exemplary leadership and work that have affected and transformed the lives of the students in their care and the community around them.

The overall best teacher will receive Ghana’s Most Outstanding Teacher Award and a three-bedroom house, while the first runner-up will receive a 4x4 pickup, with the second runner-up receiving a saloon car.

Other award categories are the Best Pre-School Teacher; the Best Primary School Teacher; Best Junior High School Teacher; Best Senior High School Teacher; Best Special School and the HIV/AIDS Most Alert School.

Prizes

There will be other prizes such as refrigerators, laptops, televisions, branded 'T'-shirts, books, pens, endowment fund and cash prizes.

The award, which was formerly called the National Best Teacher Award Scheme, was renamed and rebranded the Ghana Teacher Prize last year to meet international standards.