Bolgatanga, Aug 12, GNA - The Northern Network on Education Development (NNED), a group of NGOs advocating for good quality education in northern Ghana has expressed worry about the way most school lands in the Northern and Upper East Regions were being encroached upon by estate developers. It therefore called on the assemblies in the two regions to take urgent action to halt the situation.

Madam Margaret Mary Issaka an official of the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives (CENSUDI), a lead agency for NNED made the statement at a general meeting of NNED in Bolgatanga. The trend, she said, had the potential to prevent expansion of the infrastructure base of affected schools in future and added that the assemblies were very influential in terms of ensuring the security of educational institutions in these regions. Touching on a research conducted by NNED, Madam Issaka said the findings revealed that most pupils in the Kassena-Nankana District were not interested in taking teaching as a career but preferred other professions

Madam Issaka said the findings also revealed that the new education reforms programme was being implemented in the various schools, but there were no text books to aid smooth teaching and learning. She therefore appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to work out modalities to ensure that the recommended books reached the schools on time to enable pupils have a smooth learning process. She said the lack of motivation for teachers and as well as incentives, was responsible for the high disinterest for the teaching profession among the young generation. In a related development, a Catholic Priest, Reverend Father Rock Akologo, called on all educated people to continuously praise teachers for the sacrifices they make in producing the manpower needs of the country. He said "had it not been my teacher I would not have become a priest." Reverend Akologo expressed these sentiments at a high Mass to round off a week's celebration of the Catholic Unit Teachers Association (CUTA) in Bolgatanga. He said teachers were leaders, and they should learn to emulate Jesus Christ who devotedly rendered services to mankind without a reward. He said teachers should be given the necessary motivation to urge them to put up their best.