Apam (C/R), Sept. 26, GNA – The Gomoa West District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah has assured teachers that the government is mindful of the challenges facing them and would do its best within the resources available to improve their welfare.

The DCE therefore urged them to change the negative practices that hindered the delivery of quality education, such as lateness, truancy and alcoholism.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah was speaking at the District Best Teacher and Best Worker Award ceremony at Apam.

Fifty-four teachers and workers were awarded for their hard work and devotion to duty in 2009/2010 and 2010-2011 academic year, with Dawurampong GSTS sweeping 13 of the awards which included refrigerators, television sets, gas cookers and laptop computers.

The DCE expressed concern about poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results the district had been recording in recent times, saying in the 2008-2009 BECE, eight schools recorded zero per cent meaning none of the candidates in the eight schools qualified to be selected to Senior High School.

In 2009-2010 the zero per cent schools dropped to two and in 2010-2011 it had again shot up to eight public schools and one private school.

The DCE said the District Assembly pumped as much as GHc20,000 into the Best Teacher Award ceremony to give the teachers the kind of awards that were presentable.

He urged teachers to give of their best, considering the heavy investments the government and the Assembly had been making to improve the delivery of quality education, especially by improving schools infrastructure, donating free exercise books and uniforms to children, increasing the Capitation Grant from GHc3.00 to GHc4.50 per a child.

Mr Francis Kojo Arthur, Member of Parliament for Gomoa West urged teachers to cherish the ideals of the profession to enable them serve as role-models to their pupils as well as the society in which they lived.

Mrs Augusta Akyaa Sarpong, Gomoa West District Director of Education said because of the concern of the District Directorate of Education about the poor performance of schools in the BECE in recent times, it had organised Schools Performance Appraisal Meetings (SPAM) in all communities where schools scored zero per cent to find out the causes of such abysmal performances and how to prevent their recurrence.

She said the District Directorate had decided to intensify supervision of schools and would involve every officer in the exercise.

Mrs Sarpong urged parents to regard the education of their children as an investment which if done properly would yield a fruitful dividend in future.

She appealed to pupil teachers who had been teaching for over 25 years to take advantage of the Distant Education Programme to upgrade themselves.

Mrs Elizabeth Amoako Enimil, Effutu Municipal Director who was the guest speaker said the theme for the occasion, “Teachers for Gender Equality”, had been chosen to highlight the pivotal role teachers continued to play in the national crusade against gender inequality and abuse of girls.

She pointed out that Ghanaian culture was characterized by stereotypes, with some activities specifically meant for men and others for women, and that this served as a limitation to the abilities of women.

Mrs Enimil said teachers who were agents of change had succeeded in eroding the established impression that portrayed women as the weaker sex.

Nana Edu Effrim X, Chief of Apam suggested that the Ghana Education Service should sanction heads of schools which scored zero per cent for failing in their supervisory duties.