Tamale, Sept.4, GNA- Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has expressed the government's dissatisfaction with teachers who leave the classroom for greener pastures after pursuing further professional courses under the sponsorship of the Ghana Education Service (GES). He said: "Even though government acknowledges that conditions of service in the teaching field are not the best, it is not also appropriate for them to use the profession as a ladder to gain entry into other professions".

Alhaji Mahama said this in an address read for him by Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, the Northern Regional Minister, at the 49th annual congress and launch of the Golden Jubilee of the Ghana Association of French Teachers (GAFT) in Tamale on Tuesday.

The occasion was on the theme: "French as a partner language for the development of Ghana".

The Vice-President assured teachers that the government was taking measures to ensure upward adjustments of the salaries of all public servants in addition to the provision of infrastructure in all the educational institutions.

Alhaji Mahama said the government had no illusions about the importance of the French Language as a tool for development. "It is for this reason that French has been made a compulsory subject in second cycle institutions under the new educational reforms", he said, adding: "French would also be encouraged at the basic school level".

Additionally, he said, personnel of institutions such as the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the military would also be encouraged to study the French Language to enhance their work.

Alhaji Mahama said to encourage the study of French, government would allocate a quarter of application for study leave for teachers to French teachers.

He urged French teachers to become computer literate to update their knowledge on the modern methods of teaching the language. Mr. Evans Kokroko, President of GAFT, said the geopolitical realities of Ghana and the need for her to strengthen bilateral relations without any language barriers, was a compelling factor for the nation to take the study of French seriously.

He said the Association had drawn up a programme for the training of French teachers who had not had any formal training in either the training colleges or universities to be integrated into the public system.

He said GAFT was also organising a six-week stay at Cebelae in Benin for students of French during their long vacations to make them have a feel of the Francophone environment to better appreciate the Afro-Francophone culture.