Jasikan (V/R), May 5, GNA - Mr. Solomon Donkor, Jasikan District Chief Executive has called on the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) to flush out all the bad nuts within the organisation so as to retain the noble name of the teacher.

He made the call at the opening of the second quadrennial delegates conference of the Association at Jasikan on Thursday.

Mr. Donkor said, "the simple fact that you impart knowledge and morals to those you teach, make you one of the most important people in society and as such must be given the respect that you deserve."

"Unfortunately, the attitude and behaviour of some bad nuts among you have brought the profession into disrepute," he stated. Mr. Donkor assured the teachers that their reward would not only be in heaven. "We cannot deny teachers their due share when they perform their duties creditably on earth," he said adding that government has instituted the best teacher award to benefit them for their good work. He said the Jasikan District Assembly has sponsored about 100 teachers into teacher-training colleges to fill vacant classrooms but lamented that there were still about 155 vacant classrooms to be filled in the district.

On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the DCE announced that government had released 150 million cedis to the district for the start of the scheme.

Mrs. Irene Duncan-Adanusa, General Secretary of GNAT said that GNAT was not only a trades union but a professional organisation, therefore while its members demanded better conditions of service, it must at the same time be prepared to offer quality service to the nation. Mr. Samuel Gyang, Volta Regional Director of Education appealed to the DCE to ensure that completed new school projects were immediately handed over to the school authorities for the benefit of the pupils before ceremonies were later organised for official opening. The theme of the conference is, "Providing Quality Education in Ghana: The Way Forward".