Accra, Dec. 20, GNA - The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) would hold its second quadrennial and 49th national delegates' conference from January 9 to January 13, 2006.

The weeklong conference, which is expected to attract 750 delegates, would be under the theme: "Eradicating Poverty Through Education."

President Kufuor is expected to open the conference with the keynote address to be delivered by Mr Nxesi Thulas, current President of Education International and General Secretary of South African Democratic Teachers' Union, Mrs Irene Duncan-Adanusa, Secretary-General of GNAT, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Issues to be discussed would include the report of the Presidential Commission on Pensions, the capitation grant, upgrading of teacher training colleges to diploma status and review of the Association's development plan and action plans for the next five years. She said a two-day roundtable with the national women caucus of the education had the ability to lift people out of ignorance and poverty, change the outlook and horizon of the people, who lived in poverty and caused an increase in income.

She said the returns on education were lower in the rural areas than in the urban settings owing to the levels where many rural youth terminated their education.

Mrs Duncan-Adanusa said there would be elections for national officers during the conference. She said the national delegates' conference was the highest decision-making organ of GNAT, the body that formulated policies for governance of the Association.

She said there would be roundtable on topics such the linkage between education and the world of work, empowering women through education to end poverty and redesigning technical and vocational education. Mrs Helena Awurusa, National Co-ordinator of GNATLASS, said the women's caucus was the first to be organised, adding that it would discuss the way forward for the Association. She said the Association aimed at networking with other women organisations both nationally and internationally to find ways of making women more effective. 20 Dec. 05