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Mr. Simon Jude Yifaa, a 32-year-old professional teacher at the Nana Amoakwa Model School in the Western Region was on Saturday crowned this year's National Best Teacher at a ceremony in Wa. For his prize, Mr. Yifaa took home a cheque of GH₵65,000.00 for a three-bedroom house, a laptop, as well as a computer and accessories for his school. Mr. Yahaya Tia of the Tamale Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS) in the Northern Region and Mariama Antwi-Adjei of the Ashanti School for the Deaf in the Ashanti Region were adjudged as first and second runners up respectively. For their prizes, they each took away a Saloon car, a laptop and a computer with accessories for their schools. In all 85 people comprising three overall winners, 36 category winners, three Foreign Volunteers, 10 National Service persons, 30 retired teachers from the host Region and districts and three HIV/AIDS Alert Model Schools were honoured for their various contributions to the enhancement of education in the country. Presenting the award to the overall best teacher, Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur acknowledged the critical role played by teachers in helping to shape the country�s human resource through uncompromised quality education. The Vice President on behalf of government, therefore, saluted all teachers on the occasion of the World Teachers Day and the 19th Edition of the National Best Teacher Awards for their efforts in developing the nation's human resource. Vice President Amissah-Arthur said government would continue to resource teachers to work in a congenial and supportive environment to assist in the provision of quality education for children in the country. He announced that the Ministry of Education had been tasked to undertake a review of the current form of the Best Teacher Award Scheme with the view to improving the style of celebrating the Teachers Day in future. Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Minister for Education said the role and significance of teachers in education delivery was recognized not only in Ghana, but globally, hence the celebration of the World Teachers� Day on the 5th of October every year. She said the theme for this year�s celebration, �A call for Teachers: Teachers Take the Lead for Quality Education�, was to remind teachers that they needed to be seen as agents of change. The Education Minister called on teachers and unions to join efforts and become active agents in the development of a framework of fundamental principles related to competencies required by teachers in the 21st century. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said she awaited proposals and thoughts on the matter from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) who functioned at the tertiary levels and who were being celebrated. Dr. Ephraim Avea Nsoh, Upper West Regional Minister thanked the National Best Teacher Award Planning Committee for deeming it fit to choose the Region as the venue to host the 19th Edition of the National Best Teacher Awards.