The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), has underscored the need for Government to ensure that the country attains quality education status.
Speaking at the 11 National Delegate Conference of NAGRAT held in Bolgatanga , the National President of NAGRAT, Mr Christian Addai-Poku, said Ghana?s commitment and performance in the Millennium Development Goals has been hailed by the international community for achieving an access rate of 96 per cent and completion rate of 70 per cent but missed the quality education target.
He said whilst NAGRAT commends Government for the inclusion of quality education in the Sustainable Development Goals to be finalized in New York this year, there is the urgent need for the Executive to renew its commitment to funding a 21st century education in Ghana.
The President stated that to help achieve quality education, there is the need for Government to provide schools with 21st century teaching and learning materials such as projectors, markers, books and fly charts to enable the country to compete with countries such Finland, Korea, Singapore and Rwanda.
Mr Addai-Poku, said class four pupil in these countries are capable of doing power point presentation.
He said over bloated and overcrowdings of students in classrooms and the sitting arrangements in the form of theatre are some of the challenges confronting the achievement of quality education in Ghana.
?It is equally important to ensure that adequate numbers of well-trained motivated teachers are posted to our schools to help deliver quality education. Teachers should not only be trained but be retrained from time to time to help keep them abreast with modern best practices? the President stressed.
Delivering a keynote address on the theme ?Protecting the Integrity of Examination, If not us who then?, the Bishop of the Navrongo ?Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese , Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta , blamed the problem not only on the staff of West African Examination Council , but also some teachers and parents and called for stiffer punishment for the culprits.
He noted that if the problem is not addressed quickly, it would not only lead to the grooming of the youth to adopt selfish and wrongful means of achieving their goals in the society, but would also affect the quality of the human resource base of the country.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr James Tiigah Zugaah commended the NAGRAT for complementing government?s efforts at education delivery, and entreated the Association to be more circumspect in making demands from government.
Source: GNA
