A Lecturer at the department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences of the University of Cape Coast, Dr Noble Kwame Asare, says teacher motivation is crucial to effective teaching and learning process.
According to him, teachers who are at the forefront of the human capital development of the country ought to be well motivated with incentives, recognition, appreciable remunerations and better conditions of service.
These, he said, would enable them to develop strong passion for the profession, increase their morale and performance, as well as enable them to play their effective roles of shaping the minds of the citizenry.
He has, therefore, appealed to government and other stakeholders in the education sector to make the motivation of teachers a priority in the country’s desire to provide quality education for the citizenry.
DrAsare made this known during an event organised by the KobbahAcquah Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club-Ghana, to reward some teachers for their outstanding performance in 2022.
Speaking on the theme: “Motivating Teachers to Improve Teaching and Learning; The Role of the Stakeholders”DrAsare indicated that though teachers played indispensable roles in the country’s development, they were not adequately motivated.
For a teacher to be able to perform efficiently and effectively, he indicated that there must be a good working environment and general better conditions of service.
DrAsare added that: “when we talk about the conditions of service, there are a number of things that go into it, but basically every worker need to be compensated monetary wise, so that they can survive on it”.
According to him, a huge disparity existed between remunerations of teachers in Ghana and their counterparts in the sub-region, particularly Ghana’s neighbouring countries.
“For instance, an average teacher in Burkina Faso with the same entry level as a Ghanaian teacher takes close to what is equivalent to eight thousand cedis,” he stated.
Meanwhile, a teacher at the position of a Senior Superintendent I in Ghana, he said, is paid an amount of One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Six Cedis Forty Four pesewas.
The huge disparity and the lack of adequate compensation for teachers, he envisaged, could lead to a massive exodus of teachers leaving the country to seek greener pastures, especially as teachers were being licensed to meet international standard.
According to him, well remunerated and motivated teachers would make smarter decisions at work, be more productive and would likely remain in the profession.
DrAsare, therefore, implored the government to consider improving the conditions of service of teachers especially with adequate motivational packages and incentives.
Condemnation of teachers by parents
He expressed discomfort at the situation where many parents often condemned teachers whenever they (teachers) resorted to strike actions to demand better condition from the government.
He explained that parents must take huge interest of the affairs of teachers and appreciate the fact that the future of their wards depended on teachers who were well motivated and committed to teach.
“We all have children and our children are being taken care of by teachers so as stakeholders, we don’t just have to support the teachers with the little we can, but we must support them to fight for what is due them,” he stressed.
Teachers must tell their stories
He further stated that many parents did not sympathise with teachers when they (teachers) fight hard to demand better remunerations because the teachers’ plights are not known to many stakeholders.
He, therefore, charged teachers to be bold to tell their stories so that the citizenry would become abreast of their challenges and support them whenever teachers go on strike to demand better compensations.
As parts of efforts to adequately motivate teachers for their indispensable roles in society, the Boys and Girls Club Ghana in collaboration with the Kobbah Acquah Foundation rewarded thirteen teachers for their outstanding performances in 2022.
The event, which cost approximately fifty five thousand cedis, was solely sponsored by the Chief Executive Officer of the Kobbah Acquah Foundation, Mr Emmanuel Acquah.
