REPORT ON SOUTH DAYI DISTRICT CELEBRATE 2023 DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL WORKERS/TEACHERS PRIZE (AWARD) DAY HELD AT PEKI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Being a teacher provides the unique opportunity to make a transformative and lasting impact on the lives of others, contributing to shaping sustainable futures and offering personal fulfilment.

However, the world faces an unprecedented global teacher shortage exacerbated by a decline in their working conditions and status.

With the theme for the occasion  “The Teacher We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to reverse the Teacher Shortage”, the 2023 celebrations will aim to put the importance of stopping the teacher attrition and then starting to increase that number at the top of the global agenda.

Workers and Teachers within South Dayi District celebrated their award day at Peki College of Education Assemble hall on October 5^th 2023.

As part of activities lined-up for the day, the District  Directorate of Education organized a cultural display staged by the Peki Tsame E.P. primary school and choral music by Peki Senior High Technical School (PESTECH)  to grace the occasion of the day.

The occasion was chaired by the Paramount chief of Peki Traditional area Togbega Deigah Kodzo Dey XII.  In his remarks he said he was very glad to chair the occasion. He continued to say, the teachers must eschew partisan politics but rather should continue to learn and encourage themselves to achieve higher heights.

WELCOME ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE PRINCIPAL OF PEKI COLLAGE OF EDUCATION DR. EBENEZER APPAH BONNEY GOVCO. He extended a very warm and hearty welcome to all. In his address he said currently, there are 46 colleges of education that churn out teachers every year. There are other tertiary institutions that do same by producing professional teachers yearly. The question then arises “why the teacher shortage”? Many teachers who go through the teacher training institutions consider teaching as a stepping stone or a spring board. Such persons later leave the teaching field in search of better jobs with better remuneration. Some leave for further studies while other leave the country for greener pastures. These contribute to the teacher shortage in the country because the teacher is not motivated enough to work with happiness.

He asked, what kind of a teacher do we need and what kind of education do we want? The teacher we need is a professional who has all the requisite skills and knowledge who serves as an instructor and guides in the transmission of knowledge, skills, and values, typically in an educational setting. The kind of education we want for our children and for our posterity is the one that will serve as a process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that will enable individuals to develop and lead successful lives: the education that will shape the development  of an individual: the education that will show individuals better ways of doing something. That is the education we want.

It is the teacher who makes all these happen. Teachers provide guidance and give their light to educate and lead learners to a journey of wonder, discovery, and knowledge. For their efforts, they deserve the greatest honors and our utmost respect.

He continued that, the teachers deserve the best awards such as houses, cars, motor bikes, scholarships and so on.

 

ADDRESS BY SOUTH DAYI DISTRICT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION MR. VICTOR KWAKU KOVEY:

In his address he said he was so elated as the District Director, under his tenure teachers and educational workers are celebrating in a manner that is unprecedented in the annals of South Dayi District Education Directorate. He envisioned a future where hardworking and dedicated teachers in the district who play diverse roles in educating the younger generation will be appreciated in a manner that is befitting their toil and sacrifice. He, therefore, urged all, to play respective roles diligently to lift the District and restore it to its past glory of being number one in the region and beyond. He divided his speech into three part that is:

Achievements

Challenges and

2023 District Educational workers/Teacher prize

In their achievement there is unity, team work among the staff and the directorate. The South Dayi District Assembly has also been a great support to the directorate as far as projects are concerned, such as a three-unit classroom block projects with ancillary facilities completed and handed over to Education at Kpalime Duga in the Toh circuit, distribution of mono desks, and also kindergarten block project underway at Tongor Agordeke in the Tsanakpe circuit, all by the District Assembly under the leadership of  DCE Hon.Godwin Dadzawa. There is another kindergarten block project under construction in Kpeyiborme which is sponsored by the Member of Parliament, Hon. Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamakpor and a contribution and support towards the conduct of the 2023 District common mock examinations for BECE candidates.

The District has also benefited from the contribution from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA )volunteers by teaching creative Arts, science and Hygiene Education in the basic schools, namely, Jun Kuriso, Sayuri Ikeda and Kuwana Yakuke.

 

He continued to say, he was proud to announce that past few years the District has not recorded any incidence of examination malpractice both BECE and WASSCE examinations. In 2022, Peki Senior High Technical School was crowned as the 2022 Regional Debating champions and represented the Volta Region in the National Zonal contest in the Western Region. He added all the senior High schools make them proud in sports, culture and academic each year they make appearance at the National Science and Maths Quiz

There is also staff development and upgrading in the District, an official website created to boost the Directorates visibility so that teachers and other stakeholders can access useful information and regular news update from the website.

The challenges the district is going through are

Lack of funds for monitoring and supervision,

Inadequate furniture in the schools,

Lack of adequate infrastructure such as classroom blocks.

SPEECH DELIVERED BY DOOOOOOOOO MRS. YUMIKO ADDEY.

She began by expressing pleasure to be at this year’s award day for education workers/teachers in South Dayi District.

She added that the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) “CLOUDY” was form and registered in the year 2010 in Japan. It was also registered in Ghana as “Doooooooo Ghana Ltd” in the year 2017 and currently working in South Dayi, Accra and Bolgatanga. Their main aim of the organization is to improve the lives of people in deprived communities, notably improving access to education for children, improving the living standard of the poor through community empowerment skills, thereby, reducing poverty.

She touched on few of their activities in the South Dayi District namely:

Construction of a six-unit ultra -modern classroom block for the Abui-Tsita community

Computer laboratory with 33 pieces of laptops

Provision of K.G. block,

Toilet facilities and many more.

She expressed their willingness to continue their collaboration with the District Education Directorate to improve the educational system in the district and beyond.

SPEECH DELIVERED BY HON. GODWIN DZADZAWA THE DISTRICT CHIEF EXECUTIVE (DCE)

The DCE was so elated that the 2023 District Education workers/teachers award day was celebrated in the South Dayi District. He commended the Directors, teachers, and staff of South Dayi District for the achievement of quality education in the district. He pleaded with the teachers not to leave the country but rather stay to serve the mother Ghana especially in the District. He continued to say as the chairman of District Education Oversight Committee (DEOC) whose secretary is the Director of education Mr.Kwaku Kovey passed a resolution that the former practice whereby Directorate will set terminal examination for the basic schools from class one to class two should shift to the various school in the district and also make sure there is improvement in the District. He also commended the Directorate, teachers and non-teaching staff for the great work they are doing for the improvement of education in the District. He also made passionate appeal to the District Directorate to assist in the appointment and promotion of teachers and non-teaching staff in the district.

He continued to say the shortage of teachers in the school is not from the directorate in the District but rather global so he is going to use his good office to assist the District Director to fill the vacancies. He equally promised to present the issues of shortage of the teachers to the president, His Excellency Nana Addo Dakwa Akuffo-Addo. He said his doors are always open for support, those schools that have not received any support, will soon be called for support too. He ended by congratulating the directorate, teachers and non-teaching staffs for the organization of the ceremony, despite financial challenges.

 

SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE GUEST SPEAKER, MR. FRANCIS YAW AGBEMADI, THE VOLTA REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION,

The Regional Director expressed profound honour and privilege to be part of occasion. He congratulated all stakeholders in education in the District for continuing to do their best in the interest of the students and pupils. He urged all to forge ahead in unity with purpose so as to achieve the education goals they have set for themselves. He said the theme for the occasion cannot be overemphasized. The theme, according to him underscored the critical importance of addressing the shortage of quality teachers in the region and the impact it has on the education system.

He then started by looking at the kind of education they want in the 21^st Century, the kind of teachers they need to achieve the education they want, then proceeded with teacher shortage affects the education they want and ended up with the global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage.

The kind of education required in the 21^st century are interpersonal competencies, intrapersonal competencies, cognitive competencies and personalized lifelong learning competencies. The kind of teachers they want in the 21^st century should not only be adequate in terms of numbers but also be able to support the learner attain the needed competencies. In order to reverse this the actions include addressing the systemic issues that contribute to the shortage such as inadequate teacher training institutions, insufficient incentives for teacher, and limited career advancement opportunities.

 Awards were presented to winners, which comprised of Certificate, 32” flat screen Television set, standing fun and pressing iron according to position category winners each and also certificates were awarded to some basic pupils that took part in reading competition at OLA Senior High school.

In recognition of its invaluable contribution towards the growth and development of education in the South Dayi District the NGO, Doooooooo Ghana Ltd presented a citation by the District Directorate of Education.   

 

                      

                                                                             

   FLORENCE AHIABOR

    DISTRICT INFORMATION OFFICER

    SOUTH DAYI