Kumasi, Oct. 02, GNA - Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister on Monday called on teachers to unite to offer quality education to their pupils and students.

He said without unity in the teachers' front provision of quality education being envisaged would be an illusion.

Mr Owusu-Ansah, addressing the opening session of the Fourth National GNAT week celebrations and the 75th anniversary durbar of teachers in Kumasi, expressed worry about the apparent differences between Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT). He stressed the need for labour unions to respect the Labour Act and where the law was found to be inadequate to deal with a particular problem due processes should be followed to have it amended to deal with the problem.

Mr Owusu-Ansah told the teachers that, discipline was the cardinal principle to achieve academic excellence in schools and called on both academic staff and school children to maintain high sense of discipline. He said teachers, who had the responsibility to mould the character of the nation's growing children should set good examples for them to emulate.

The Ashanti Regional Minister noted that Government recognised the need to make salaries of teachers compared favourably with the salaries of other professionals requiring similar qualifications and said this called for an atmosphere of peaceful negotiations. He advised the teachers to take advantage of the numerous opportunities to upgrade themselves.

Professor Joseph Kingsley Aboagye, Director of the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, said it was important for GNAT and other teacher organisations to collaborate with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to promote quality education in schools. He pointed out that the apparent ideological differences between teacher organisations to unite under one umbrella to promote the welfare of teachers.

Professor Aboagye urged the teachers to be concerned about the deplorable nature of education in the first and second cycle schools in the country and play their expected roles effectively to address them. Mr Joseph Kwaku Adjei, National President of GNAT, said the leadership was negotiating with Government to address the concerns of teachers and urged members to exercise restraint. He appealed to them to close their ranks to build a vibrant association.

Mr Augustine Mensah, Ashanti Regional Chairman of GNAT, said the national week celebration under the theme 93Uniting to deliver quality education: 75 years of GNAT=94 would bring teachers together to draw public attention to the critical position the teaching profession occupied in national development.

He said members who had worked hard to promote the course of the association would be rewarded.

Mr Mensah said the association had achieved successes and urged members to involve themselves actively in activities of the association. Twenty members were rewarded for their meritorious services to the growth and development of the association. Each of them received a table top fridge and a certificate.