The Deputy Minister for Education in charge of Tertiary Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed that education is a responsibility for every citizen and not teachers alone.
He made this known at the launch of the20th edition of the awards scheme for National Best Teacher 2014 on the theme �Unite for Quality Education� yesterday in Accra.
The Minister said the award was to recognise, appreciate and motivate dedicated and hardworking teachers to encourage them to give their best in the noble profession.
He said the selection of the best teacher on that day did not imply that the other teachers were not appreciated or recognised.
He noted the Ministry had made some interventions to show its commitment to teachers which included training of ten thousand teachers in the use of ICT; the provision of fifty thousand teachers with laptops, improved the quality of teacher input in educating pupils as well as reducing teacher absenteeism from 27% to 11%.
The Minister used the opportunity to debunk the false information that was speculating in the media that the Ministry was flashing out pupil teachers who helped during the time the nation lacked enough trained teachers. �On the contrary, these teachers are being rolled onto programmes such as distance learning to equip them on the teaching field,� he explained.
"The importance of quality education in the development of a nation cannot be over emphasize, hence, the theme for this year�s celebration is a call to all stakeholders in education to unite in the delivery of quality education� he said.
He called on teachers to reflect on their roles and responsibilities as both government and sponsors continue to sacrifice a lot to motivate them.
Total numbers of teachers to be awarded this year are 55 at the National level, 360 at the Regional level and 3,312 at the District level on Sunday 5th October, 2014 to coincide with the World Teachers Day Celebrations.
The Minister expressed his gratitude to the sponsors for their generous support and hoped that others would emulate and join them in the sponsorship.
Some of the sponsors are SIC life, Omega and Aktech Computers, RLG Communications, IPMC, Metropolitan Insurance Trust, Omateck, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation; GET fund, SEDCO, EPP amongst others.
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