The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has called on the Government to re-introduce the payment of subsidy for teachers pursuing Distance Education Programmes.

The Association observed that the teacher is the linchpin of education delivery and the stronger the teacher in content and in pedagogy, the greater the possibility of producing high teaching and learning outcomes in schools.

Mr. Thomas Baafi, Deputy General Secretary in-charge of Education and Professional Development of GNAT, made the call at the closing of a one-week in-service training workshop for some teachers in Berekum.

The workshop was jointly organized by GNAT and the Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) and attended by 195 teachers drawn from selected basic and second cycle institutions across the country.

Mr. Baafi emphasized that GNAT was extremely unhappy about the fizzling away of the agreement reached between it and the Government on the payment of the subsidy to teachers who were pursuing higher education.

“The facility which was paid once was to help these teachers who would not leave the classroom completely to pursue their education, to pay for their examination fees and the cost of modules used,” he explained.

Mr. Baafi also said another issue that had been neglected for a long time was helping newly appointed teachers to integrate smoothly into the new employment.

To this end, he said, this year the Association introduced a course dubbed ‘New Entrants Programme’ to address this need with 30 young entrants taken through training, which would enable them to cope with the challenges in taking new appointments in teaching.

Mr. Baafi stated that the good intentions of GNAT to improve teachers’ performance in the classroom would come to naught if the Government failed to fulfill its part of the contract.

He observed that many teachers were facing accommodation challenges with some of them leaving in facilities which were death traps and called on the Government to target the most deprived areas and put up acceptable dwelling places for serving teachers.

Mr. Samuel Doe Alobuia, President of GNAT, thanked the Canadian federation for the support in helping to develop the capacities and competencies of Ghanaian teachers.

He noted that the world was moving very fast in knowledge acquisition and advised teachers to strive hard to be abreast with times.

Mr. Alobuia reminded that the Education Act of 2006, Act 778 demanded a lot from teachers so they must work hard as the association continued to dialogue with the Government for better conditions of service.

Mr. Martyn Chapman, leader of the CTF, team advised the teachers to adopt modern ways and innovative methods of teaching to promote high academic excellence among students and pupils.**