Teachers in Upper Manya lauded for good performance

The District Director of Education for Upper Manya Krobo District in the Eastern Region, Evelyn Tawiah Nyabu, has lauded the performance of teachers in the district which has reflected in the overall performance of the district in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) over the past 12 years even though there is room for improvement.

“As a district carved out of Manya Krobo District in 2012, we have made tremendous efforts to improve BECE performance over the years.

“To help you better appreciate our current level of performance, allow me to walk you through the BECE pass rates recorded since 2012.

“In 2012, we had 27.50  per cent, 2013, 14.70 per cent, 2014, 25.80 per cent, 2015, 34.90 per cent, 2016, 34.74 per cent, 2017, 40.32 per cent, 2018, 42.36 per cent, 2019, 62.50 per cent, 2020, 68.45 per cent, 2021, 66.17 per cent, 2022, 92.59 per cent and 2023, 87.90 per cent’’, Ms Nyabu elaborated.

The district director made the recommendation as the guest speaker at the maiden edition of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Upper Manya Krobo District Seventh Quadrennial District Delegates Conference at Asesewa on the theme: ‘’Ghana Education Service @ 50; Achievements, Teacher Motivation, Challenges and the way forward’’.

The conference elected a new executive for the next four years. They are: Chairman, Ebenezer Kodjo Narh; Vice Chairman, Gideon Komla Amevor; Basic School representative, Solomon Matey Wayo; Youth Coordinator, Moses Atteh Obimpeh; Treasurer, Philip Yeboah; Trustee, Stephen Narh Kwesi; GNAT- Ladies representative, Esther Dede Duamor; Education Office representative, Eric Sackitey; and senior high school representative, Wisdom Kweku Voegborlo.      

Ms Nyabu said, considering how far the district had come as an underserved district, the remarkable progress needed to be commended even though there was more room for improvement and urged the teachers not to rest on their oars.

Teacher motivation  

She noted with concern that no formal education could rise above the quality of its teachers, hence teacher motivation was not a luxury but a necessity.

She, however, added that teachers remained the torchbearers of national transformation, yet their morale was, “often weighed down by inadequate remuneration, delayed promotions, lack of accommodation, limited professional development opportunities and above all over-stressed workload, adding “these realities cannot be ignored’’.          

She said as a nation looking ahead, “We must adopt a transformative mindset by strengthening teacher professionalism, digitising teaching and administration, deepening community engagement and enhancing equity in education.”

The Upper Manya Krobo GNAT Secretary, Livingstone Avorgbedor urged the government to provide teachers with allowances and telecommunication network to motivate them to stay in the deprived communities and work just like their colleagues in the urban areas in the interest of the learners.

Teacher deficit

The District GNAT Chairman, Ebenezer Kodjo Narh, mentioned teacher deficit, poor networking system and language barrier as some of the major issues confronting the teachers in the district.

He alleged that there was a teacher deficit of 400 in the district and appealed to the GES to consider posting more teachers to the district to get the needed quota of teachers.        

The Eastern Regional Trustee of GNAT, Rev. Michael Appiah, who presided over the conference on behalf of the regional secretary, urged members of the union to remain loyal and resolute, as GNAT would continue to fight for their rights as teachers.