This year’s Ghana Teacher Prize to reward high performing teachers in the country, was yesterday launched in Accra.

The event, slated for October 5 at the Paa Joe Stadium at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, will be preceded by a two-day educational conference aimed at disseminating research findings and exhibitions to expose participants to innovative approaches and best practices that support the teacher to become effective towards higher learner outcome.

The overall best teacher will receive Ghana’s most Outstanding Teacher Award, with the first and second runner-ups and the Best Pre-School Teachers receiving lucrative prizes.

Other categories including the best Primary School Teacher, Best Junior High School Teacher, best special school and the HIV/AIDS most school alert will also be honoured.

The most outstanding teacher will take home a three-bedroom house while the first runner-up will receive a 4X4 pick-up with the second runner-up receiving a saloon car.

Other prizes including, fridges, deep freezers, laptops, television sets, branded T-shirts, educational materials and cash prizes will be presented to other deserving schools and teachers.

The Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah on behalf of the Sector Minister, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh urged teachers to be facilitators of learners and not see themselves as repository of knowledge who force information unto learners.

He indicated that the awards would serve as a great moral responsibility to honour teachers and cherish them for the wonderful work they have done over the past years.

Dr Prempreh recounted efforts by government to transform the educational sector towards making it accessible to all Ghanaians, indicating that government would continue to seek the welfare of teachers to enable them give off their best.

The Secretary General of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Ofori Atta Acheampong, urged government to adequately reward teachers to ensure their stay in the classroom.

According to him the teaching profession should not be seen as a stop gap but rather as a profession that transforms the life of others.

The Acting Executives Secretary of the National Teaching Council (NTC), Mr Christian Addai-Poku, said the award had been expanded to cover non-teaching staff to make the work of the teacher complete.

“As we vigorously pursue the professionalisation of the teaching profession, it was important as a nation to do our utmost best to improve the lots of teachers to benefit their status.