Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, has lauded corporate organisations for their annual contributions to motivate teachers through the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) Award.
Motivated teachers, Dr Adutwum said, would help them to give of their best to improve learning outcomes.
The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf in Accra at the GTP Sponsors’ Appreciation Day to award them for their dedication to the programme.
The award is organised under the auspices of the National Teaching Council.
He said the Ministry had since 1995 celebrated teachers through the GTP and had been possible and successful with the help of sponsors.
“Your support in sustaining this initiative has been very handy and we highly appreciate it.
“This year has been a difficult year for all businesses due to the effect of COVID-19, but our sponsors never abandoned their commitment to the event,” he said.
Dr Adutwum said the sponsors’ efforts was fully appreciated because a well-motivated quality teacher always guaranteed better school outcome.
The vision of government, he said was to transform education in the country and improve upon learning outcomes, stressing that teachers played a key role in the realization of the agenda.
The Minister pledged the Ministry’s support for the award winners to compete for both the Global and Africa Union Teacher Prizes.
Mr Christian Addai-Poku, the Registrar of NTC, said this year’s award ceremony was the number four trending news on social media, adding that this was achieved through proper planning, promotion and partnership with sponsors.
He urged the organisations to sustain their support and appealed to other institutions to come on board and support the award to improve education in the country.
Mr Ebenezer Kojo Otoo, a 44-year-old teacher of the Winneba Senior High School (SHS) in the Efutu Municipality of the Central Region, was crowned the 2021 National Best Teacher.
For his prize, Mr Otoo received a GHS250,000.00 cheque for a three-bedroom house sponsored by GLICO Pension.
Mr Otoo said the award came as a surprise to him and thanked God for the recognition, pledging to do more and build a viable society through quality teaching.
Reverend Sister Jacinta Kwakyewaa, a tutor at the St. Francis SHS/Technical School in the Birim Central Municipality, Eastern Region, was adjudged the first runner-up and received a brand new 4×4 pick-up vehicle from the Prudential Bank.
Mr Nelson Saviour Kwashie of the Awutu Swinton SHS in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region was the second runner-up and was presented with a brand new saloon car from Databank.
Cash prizes ranging between GHS5,000.00 and GHS7,000.00 as well as other valuable items were presented to other 17 deserving teaching and non-teaching staff, who distinguished themselves in other categories of the award, including Junior High, Primary and Kindergarten levels.
The institutions which donated are Ghana Education Service Occupational Pension Scheme, GETFUND, Glico Pensions Trust, Prudential Bank Limited, SIC LIFE, Databank Limited, ABE Ventures, and Innolink Limited.
The rest are UNICEF, UNESCO, Petra Trust, Investcorp, IC Giving, EPP Book Services, DHI College of Health and Education, Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers CCT, Teachers and Education Workes’ Union and Multimedia Group Limited as a media partner.
Source: GNA