Sekondi, Aug. 11, GNA - Mr John Nyoabge, Deputy General Secretary of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at the week-end said society. He said GNAT would be responsive not only to the core business of the association which is collective bargaining with its employers but also the professional enhancement of teachers. Mr Nyoagbe was addressing the closing session of a five-day workshop for 175 selected teachers in Western Region at Sekondi. The workshop was the last in the series of workshops organised for teachers in Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions under the annual The topics included leadership and administration, English Language and Literature, Core and Elective Mathematics, Science, French, Basic design and technology. Mr Nyoagbe explained that the workshops were geared towards reinforcing positive work attitudes of teachers most of whom "suffer burn-out and become lethargic" after many years of practice under stressful conditions.

He said they were to address the knowledge deficits in specialized courses taught by the participants and the state-of-the-art teaching and school management strategies adopted during the workshop would help to upgrade and update their skills. Mr Nyoagbe said another important objective of the workshops was to orientate and sensitize participants on the curricular demands of the current educational reforms. He expressed GNAT's appreciation to Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) for the support and fruitful collaboration and cooperation for the past 40 years.

Mr Nyoagbe said some problems encountered by teachers in their performance were lack of basic logistics such as attendance registers and teacher's notebooks that frustrated and impeded their work. He pointed out that teachers were anxiously waiting for the implementation of the single spine salary regime that would re-establish equity in public sector pay administration.

Madam Rebecca Efiba Dadzie, Western Regional Director of Education, teachers to give of their best in the moral and academic training of students who were future leaders of the country. Certificates were presented to the participants.