Wa, Aug 25, GNA - Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, the Minister of Education, says the government would lay a sound foundation at the basic education level but this would depend largely on the quality of teachers.

Mr Tettey-Enyo said this in a speech read on his behalf by Alhaji Issahaque Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, at the 52nd Annual Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education in Wa on Tuesday.

He said teacher education was a key factor in enhancing quality education of every nation and that any nation that "turns its back to education stands the risk of extinction".

Mr. Tettey-Enyo said government was committed to ensuring effective delivery of teacher education to achieve educational goals through the improvement of academic and professional status of teachers so that they might deliver quality education.

He called for the provision of computers and internet facility to all colleges of education to ensure that colleges exploit the potentials offered by Information and Technology.

Mr Tettey-Enyo said discussions were ongoing to increase admission quotas into colleges of education to address the teacher supply gaps in the Ghana Education Service, which is now estimated to stand at 33,185.

He said the Untrained Teacher Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) programme had produced 12,000 trained teachers, which would help improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools in view of the large volume of untrained teachers in the system.

The National Service, the Voluntary Service and the National Youth Employment Programme were some important stop gap measures at meeting teacher demands, Mr. Tettey-Enyo said.