DISTANCE education has become a cost effective means for nations to train more teachers to meet the exigencies of the time in the education sector, the Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in-charge of teacher education, Mr Victor Mantey, has stated.
He said the conventional mode of training teachers could not meet the demand for teachers hence the distance education programme which had been successfully practised for so many years in many countries.
Mr Mantey said this in a paper titled “Teacher Education by Distance: Issues and Challenges in the Training of Non- Certified Teachers in Ghana” delivered on his behalf at the third congregation of Jasikan College of Education.
According to him 24,000 untrained teachers were undergoing training in 35 out of the 38 colleges of education in distance learning, and that the performance of the majority of them had been encouraging.
He said distance learning had gained credence in Ghana in the past 10 years, and that it had made it possible to reach teachers in geographically inaccessible areas, adding that with flexibility inherent in the system it had made it possible for teachers to combine it with full time jobs.
Mr Mantey said it had been a convenient system for teachers who could not benefit from the limited chances on study leave with pay, and also kept many families intact.
He stressed the need for the directors of education to be given adequate logistics to facilitate effective supervision.
Mr Mantey asked the graduates to desist from using school time for private businesses, and that they should not send pupils on personal errands during class hours.
The Pro Vice Chancellor of the Universityof Cape Coast, Professor D.D. Kuupole, said the day marked a turning point in their lives, and that they should endeavour to justify sacrifices that made their training possible.
Mr Kuupole who conferred diplomas on the graduates said the nation was counting on them to reverse the falling standard of education through more dedicated work.
In an address read on his behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, announced that the government had voted GH¢ 300,000 from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for each of the colleges of education for the upgrading of facilities.
The Rector of the college, Mr Gabriel Wotordzor, said the college had trained thousands of teachers who had performed at all levels of national and international development.
He said the college had always strived to achieve its mission to train teachers academically and professionally to enable them to teach effectively at the basic education school level.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Adontenhene of Buem, Nana Bugru Brantuo VI, said the good image of the college had given a good image for the town, and called for the renovation of school structures.
He asked the government to come out with a policy on study leave for teachers.
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