Odumase (Ash), Dec 11, GNA - Thirty-one teachers and non-teaching staff of the Ghana Education Service in the Asante-Akim North Municipality, who distinguished themselves between 2007 and 2009, have been rewarded with prizes at a ceremony held at Odumase. They received items which include television sets, music systems and certificates.

This is the first time in three years that the municipality is honouring its hard working and dedicated teachers. The event was organized under the theme, "The Quest for Quality Education Delivery: The Role of the Teacher." Mr Joseph K. Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, in a speech read for him, said the annual celebration of teachers' day must be used to remind stakeholders of the crucial role teachers play in national development.

He expressed concern about the poor conditions under which teachers, especially those in the rural areas worked, saying, this was a disincentive to effective teaching. While calling for the provision of adequate resources and facilities to enhance academic work, he urged teachers to be selfless and patriotic. Mrs Naana Abudu, the Municipal Education Director, lauded teachers in the municipality for their work, which she said, had resulted in improved performance of the schools in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). She advised the award winners not to be complacent but to continue with the good work. Mr Thomas Osei-Bonsu, the Municipal Chief Executive, said since teachers were the pivot around which education revolved, there was the need to provide them with the needed incentives to perform. He pledged the government's commitment to put more resources into the education sector, citing the increase in the Capitation Grant and the extension of the School Feeding Programme to more schools.