Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 8th Sept. '99 - The Ghana Education Service (GES) will soon accelerate promotion of teachers serving in very deprived areas of the country. Those that will be promoted will be required to work for two more years in those areas. Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, the Director-General of GES announced in Kumasi on Tuesday at the opening of the sixth annual Conference of District Directors of Education (CODDE).

The five-day conference has as its theme "Effective Management of Education in Ghana-The role of the District Director in the next Millennium". Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said the programme formed part of the incentive package for teachers in the deprived areas and, therefore, warned District Directors not to include the names of ghost teachers in the list.

The Director-General charged the District Directors to begin applying stiff sanctions like outright dismissal of teachers so as to instil discipline into the profession. He assured them of the full backing of GES in that direction. Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi noted that merely transferring a teacher, who is always drunk or who embezzles school money, from one district to the other or from one region to another does not solve the problem. Such a teacher is either going to drink more or embezzle more money and, therefore, needs a stiffer sanction.

On the restructuring of the GES, the Director-General said a clear distinction is now going to be drawn between officers, who have professional background and those, who do not have but added, that the two categories would have to be mixed. Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said their role of ensuring effective teaching and learning in the classrooms must never be sacrificed for any personal gain. "You must at all times be guided by the principles of honesty, accountability and transparency in all your transactions".