The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has denounced the increasing incidence of sexual abuse of schoolgirls by teachers, describing the practice as "embarrassing".

Mr J.E. Fokuo, Ashanti Regional Secretary of GNAT, said such offending teachers should neither expect support nor protection from the association.

He was addressing the first quadrennial delegates' conference of the Ejisu-Juaben District GNAT on the theme "Restoration of the Dignity of the Teacher - The way Forward".

Mr Fokuo told teachers to shun all forms of anti-social behaviour so as to win public respect and uplift the image of the profession.

He also called on the Teacher Education Directorate and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to open a thorough public debate on the proposed system under which trainee teachers would spend two years at college and one year in the classroom.

The GNAT Regional Secretary held the view that the system could be an expensive experiment and must be properly discussed before implementation, saying: "if anything, it should have been run on a pilot basis".

Mr Festus Boadi-Suadwa, Ejisu-Juaben District Director of Education, bemoaned the poor academic performance of pupils and students in the area and asked the association to collaborate with the directorate to save the situation.

To check lateness to school among teachers, he told them to either choose to stay in towns and communities where they teach or get there at the right time, warning that excuses like lack of transportation would no longer be accepted.

Nana Asumadu Sakyi, Deputy District Co-ordinating Director, reminded them of their motto - We live to Teach - and called for a change in their attitude to work, stop absenteeism, laziness, drunkenness and misuse of the contact hours.

He said that, through this, they could greatly help to raise the quality of education in the area, and urged them to be in the forefront of creating public awareness on important national issues.

Mr William Okai-Neye, District Chairman of the Association, earlier in a welcoming address, called for quick and amicable resolution of the differences between the GNAT and the National Graduate Teachers Association to ensure a united front.