President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has received a Medal of Honour from the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA)
for his contribution to education and teaching in the country.
The AFTRA is an inter-governmental organisation of the various ministries of education and other national agencies regulating teaching in the 55 African Union (AU) member states.
The medal is the federation’s highest award reserved for African Presidents and Heads of State who have impacted the teaching profession in their respective countries.
The honour was bestowed on the President during the opening of the ninth Teaching and Learning Conference in Accra yesterday.
The five-day AFTRA conference, dubbed: “Unpacking teaching and learning in Africa for excellence”, has brought together some ministers of education from across
the continent, some regulators of the teaching profession in Africa and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
The Deputy President of AFTRA, Professor Josiah Ajiboye, presented a citation and a gold medal to the President on behalf of the federation.
The Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who received the items on behalf of the President, said adequate qualified teachers were a key to educational delivery.
Learning outcomes
She said evidence pointed to improvement in learning outcomes in the country due to adequate professional teachers who adhered to the ethics of the profession.
Mrs Osei-Opare said the COVID-19 pandemic had taught a lesson that teachers were irreplaceable.
“The incessant craving for teachers during the difficult times in the pandemic tells us that technology can be an enabler but not a replacement for teachers
in our education,” she said.
She said as the continent invested in teaching and learning, it was essential that “we have the right professionals who are capable of breaking down
curriculums and see learning to the level of higher outcomes”.
She said the National Teaching Council, the agency responsible for regulating teaching in Ghana, had been well supported by the government to professionalise
teaching through the enactment of appropriate legislation, as well as the regulation of human and financial resources, to fully execute their mandates.
Mrs Osei-Opare commended AFTRA for taking steps to actualise constant desires to make teaching a real profession through the establishment and enforcement of
teaching standards, continuous professional development, professional values, attitudes, practices, among others.