Teachers charged to be agents of change
Professor Dr Daniel Buor, Vice Chancellor of Valley View University (VVU), at the week-end reminded teachers that their role in transforming the country was very crucial.
He said teachers were to augment the nation-building by fully utilizing their God-given talents and knowledge to finding lasting solutions to the challenges facing the nation and to make a difference in the society.
“Societies are tearing apart, the internal stability of nations is collapsing, with drug abuse sapping intellectual capacity and crippling foresight; corruption at low and high places and even ecclesiastical circles, marriages breaking down on flimsy excuses; human lives butchered with indiscriminate carnage for power, you are therefore to shine like stars in this dark world.”
Professor Dr Buor was speaking at the 50th Anniversary and joint graduation ceremony of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Asokore-Koforidua.
He reminded the graduates that they had been trained to be committed to the task of moulding the lives of the youth through precepts and practice and “being a model for the youth in a world that is fast heading towards atrophy and destruction.”
He advocated that teachers should make it an objective to train their learners for life, adding that, they must ensure that the pupils they teach are able to use their skills learned to make a living in society and to promote socio-economic development.
“Whatever the discipline, if a student, after completion of his programme is not useful to society, the training has been useless,” he stressed.
The Vice Chancellor therefore called for the provision of appropriate teaching aids and exposure of teachers and pupils to modern techniques and technologies to ensure that theories are related to practice and to real world situations.
He also entreated the teachers not to have expectations of gaining material acquisition on a silver platter, saying, success is not measured in terms of material acquisition but the manner in which one acquires the basic necessities of life.
“You have not been trained to teach poorly during normal teaching hours just to create an opportunity for extra classes nor to use the senior female students as your second wives, nor collect illegal fee; nor use school hours to work lotto.”
Professor Dr Buor implored the teachers to accept postings to the rural areas to build the hopes of prospective future leaders from those areas for the nation.
Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, Eastern Regional Minster, disclosed that the government had enhanced the quantum of incentive packages for teachers serving in deprived areas, urging the graduates to willfully accept posting to the deprived communities in the country.
She also advised the teachers not to engage in any negative behaviour such as going to the class late, abusing and exploiting pupils and engaging in alcoholism.
Mrs Rose Owusu-Kakrah, Principal of the College, appealed to stakeholders and philanthropists to assist the college to construct a dining hall, an ICT centre, a library, an administration block and to acquire a generator plant.
Source: GNA