Thirty-two-year-old Yifah Simon Jude has been crowned National Best Teacher for 2013 at the 19th award ceremony at the Jubilee Park in the Upper West regional capital, Wa.

The Nana Amoako Model School Teacher in Wassa Daaman in the Western Region will be given a three-bedroom house valued at Ghc 65,000, a laptop and a set of computers.

The award ceremony coincided with World Teachers' Day.

Simon Jude's award was in recognition of his contribution to the development of sports in his district and his tenacity to finish whatever he starts.

First Runner-Up, Yaya Tai is a teacher at Tamale Presby Junior High School. His citation notes the consistency with which at least 60% of his students made grade A in Geography. He was recognised for his punctuality despite living 15km away from his school.

Tai gets a saloon car, a laptop and a computer for his school. Second runner up Mariama Antwi Agyei also takes home a saloon car, a laptop and a set of computers for her school.

She is the head of the primary department of the Ashanti School for the Deaf.

Vice-President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur and Education Minister, Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, were among the dignitaries at the award ceremony.