By William Owusu Boateng
A cross-section of Teachers in Accra have appealed to the government to take teacher motivation seriously to engender professional commitment. Speaking to GBC News on the occasion of this year’s World Teachers’ Day, some teachers reckoned that with education being the backbone of the country’s development, all efforts must be geared towards enhancing the capacity and professional delivery of the teacher.
“Teachers all over the world, especially in our country Ghana, must be motivated. Teachers are not at all motivated. A teacher can be a millionaire if you pay the teacher well. Because you are paying him well, he can save and then set a small business aside from teaching.”
“Currently, I think the conditions are not good enough for teachers because the teacher’s motivation is very poor. Teaching and learning material is also a very important area.’’
World Teachers’ Day is held annually to celebrate teachers around the globe. The day is also used to commemorate the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendations, concerning the status of teachers. The 2021 celebration is on the theme “Teachers at the Heart of Education Delivery’’. Some teachers GBC News spoke to, were unanimous on the issue of motivation. They however expressed mixed feelings for choosing Teaching as a Profession. While some claimed to have regretted their choice, in view of low remuneration, others found motivation from other factors.
“If the government wants to prioritize education, then those at the fore-front of education must be taken care of. Those who are holding the Barton should be motivated to keep running, else if they drop the Barton, then there is nothing for the children to hold onto,’’ the Teacher stated (The teachers wanted to remain anonymous).
