STOP USING TEACHERS FOR NON-CLASSROOM WORK ...Urges Bannerman-Mensah (PAGE 11)

THE Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, has bemoaned the regular engagement of public school teachers by governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to the detriment of effective teaching and learning in schools.
He observed the regular practice of engaging public school teachers for national and district assignments, as well as activities of NGOs and said the situation had adverse effects on classroom work.
“We have embarked on education reforms and our teachers must not abandon classroom work for other pursuits as the government is paying for their services. I, therefore, charge directors of education to monitor teachers and ensure effective supervision in schools to reverse that trend,” he stressed.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah said this during the opening of the 15th Annual National Conference of Directors of Education (CODE) in Tamale in the Northern Region.
It was on the theme, “The new Education Reform: The Way Forward”. The over 200 participants discussed education reform, promotion of quality education and ensuring effective supervision in schools, among other issues.
“One teacher should not be encouraged to involve himself or herself in too many NGO activities as they are having a negative impact on teaching and learning in schools,” Mr Bannerman-Mensah pointed out.
The Director-General noted that misuse of class contact hours should be discouraged, while new vehicles provided to ensure effective supervision in schools by directors must be put to good use for the results to be seen.
“As we learn from other nations, the development of our children should be well monitored and supervised to ensure that they get the full benefits of all the structures put in place for their well-being and academic development,” he pointed out.
He, however, cautioned that “our supervision must not be the porous one that lends itself to all kinds of temptations from officers; instead, we must, by our effective supervision, cause our officers to love to always do the right thing”.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah stressed that effective supervision must be the concern of directors of education, adding that the work of the District Inspectorate Division of the GES was also being transformed into a vibrant and reliable quality control entity.
“School Management Committees (SMCs) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) should become organs of school supervision systems to complement the efforts of the service to promote quality at all levels of education,” the director-general intimated.
He challenged directors of education to pay particular attention to supervision in schools, since effective supervision was lacking in most of our schools.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah announced the government’s plans to rehabilitate science resource centres at the basic level.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, in a speech read on his behalf, stated that the government was committed to the realisation of the cherished dream of adequately resourcing the education sector.
Touching on the recent disturbances in the Tamale metropolis, the minister observed that conflicts had over the years undermined the gains made so far.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, stated that the assembly had been liaising with NGOs and the GES to help arrest the falling standards of education in the metropolis.