Okyehene advocates better salaries for teachers

The Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin, has attributed the low commitment of teachers towards teaching in basic schools to poor salaries.

He said most teachers were not giving off their best because they were grossly underpaid and appealed to the Ghana Education Service and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to take a second look at the salaries of teachers to motivate them to help improve academic standards at the basic level.

Okyehene said at the Sixth Congregation of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education.

He said the current state of the country was as a result of selfish and self-seeking leadership over the years and urged Ghanaians to remember Dr. Ephraim Amu’s song “Yen ara yen asase ni” and to reflect on the words of that song.

He said Dr. Amu foresaw the future of the country and called for commitment and dedication to the development of the country.

Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin threw a challenge to the new graduates to adopt an attitude of change at this time that the country was facing economic challenges and accept every opportunity that comes their way.

The Principal of the College, Rev. Benson Nkansa-Kyeremateng, called on the government to allocate funds to enable the management of the college to complete the rehabilitation of access roads in the school which are under construction.

Rev. Nkansa-Kyeremateng said the work on the three-unit building for staff had also come to a halt due to shortage of funds.

He said though the management of the college was grateful to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), but added that more funds were needed to complete projects in the college.

Rev. Nkansa-Kyeremateng called on the Alumni, stakeholders and corporate bodies to come to their aid.

He said the college needed an internet facility to enable the students undertake serious research and also an electricity generating plant to end the consistent power outages affecting academic activities in the college.

Professor James Adu Opare, Chief of Ahwerase, urged the new teachers to put in their best to ensure that no matter how bad a student’s performance might be, they would accept the challenge to make that child improve upon his performance.

In a speech read on behalf of the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Ms. Mavis Ama Frimpong said the delivery of quality basic education was important to the child’s education career.

She said the government had put resources in place to help solve challenges facing teaching and learning and also motivate teachers to give off their best.

Ms. Frimpong said the government could not provide all resources needed by the education sector and, therefore, called for all hands on deck to help.

In all, 113 males and 32 females received Diploma in Basic Education