Yendi, Dec. 24, GNA - The Yendi Ghana Education Service 2004 Best Teacher and non-teaching staff award ceremony has been held at Yendi in the Yendi District of Northern Region. In all, nine hard working teachers and five non-teaching staff who have worked selflessly to promote quality education in their schools were honoured and 103 teachers selected from the deprived communities in the district also received incentive packages. In the Senior High School level, Mr Mohamed Ibrahim of Dagbon State Secondary Technical School received 21- inch colour television, Mr Abukari Alhassan Adam of Yendi Senior High School also received a suitcase.

In the primary school level, Mr Sulemana Yahaya of Kulkpene E.P. primary received double cabin refrigerator and Mrs Umar Memunatu of Zang L.A. primary school received Panasonic Radio Cassette. In the Junior High School level, Mr. Yakubu Tahiru of Islamic number 2 Junior High School received 21-inch colour Television with the teachers from deprived communities Mr Abdul Mumuni of Sang High School received a double cabin refrigerator, Mrs. Biyee Dagbaja of Adibo Circuit received a solar lamp, and Mr. Torgavi Moaane of Bunbonayili circuit received a bicycle. In an address, the Yendi District Chief Executive, Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tihjani said the teacher is the pivot of the educational system and this has been acknowledged in the ongoing education reforms. Alhaji Tijani stated that, it is in this light that human resources development had been a core thematic area of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategies of the Government of Ghana. According to the District Chief Executive, as far as the improvement of standards of education is concerned it is the teacher who will bring about the needed change, hence the need to improve the knowledge and skills of teachers through systematic training, provision of teacher accommodation, resourcing of teachers to perform well and provision of incentives as motivation for good performance, among others. He noted that the assembly spends a lot of funds per annum to train more indigenous teachers to feed the educational system, complemented with the youth in employment programmme.

Alhaji Tijani called on the professional teachers to give the young teachers the needed encouragement and training to also come up. He expressed his profound congratulations to all the award winners for their exemplary show. In his welcome address, the Yendi District Director of Education, Mr. Nantogmah Ziblim said the National Best Teacher and Worker Award Scheme, started in 1995 on a humble scale.

Mr. Ziblim said since then it has become an annual ceremony and has also been introduced to the Regional Metropolitan, Municipal and District levels. He said teachers cherish the scheme so much, but, the sponsorship at the grassroots level needs to be considered serious. According to the District Director of Education they cannot organize the Regional and District level awards regularly because there is not sponsorship at this level. He made passionate appeal to all stakeholders to throw their weight behind Ghana Education Service to make education move ahead in the district and Ghana as a whole.

Mr. Ziblim said most of the schools that scored aggregates in the range of 20 to 30 in the BECE are in remote areas. Eh said there is therefore the need to find ways and means of making the remote areas attractive enough for teachers not only to go there, but also want to stay there for as long as they choose to. He expressed his appreciation to Government of Ghana, UNICEF, Yendi District Assembly and donor agencies for funding the Best Teacher Award items and incentive packages. The chairman of the occasion Mr. Shahadu Alhassan Issahaku, who is also the Presiding member of the Yendi District Assembly urged those who did not win awards this time should not despair, they can strive hard to win awards next time. Mr Shahadu urged all teachers to take advantage of it and perform well.