The recently awarded National Best Teacher, Ebenezer Kojo Otoo has expressed his gratitude for his recognition at World Teachers Day.
According to him, the award means a lot because he has taught for twenty-one years without being able to build his own house.
“I am very grateful for this recognition and win because even though I have taught for 21 years I haven’t been able to build my own house”, he said.
In an interview with Abena Opokua Ahwenee on Dadi 101.1 FM, he acknowledged the fact that he believes this award is a result of his good works.
He added that he didn’t win just because he was a teacher but due to how he has impacted his society and the country at large.
The Visual Arts teacher at Winneba Senior High who also doubles as a Farmer stated that, he plays fifteen roles in his community and country aside from being a teacher.
“I have different roles I play in the country, I am not just a teacher, I am an examiner for WAEC, I am also an award-winning farmer, I am the cultural coordinator for Effutu Municipality, and a lot more”, he revealed.
Speaking with the host, he spoke on some challenges he has faced as a visual arts teacher, he advised that the Educational system should be upgraded with more practical aspects for the students.
For his prize, Mr Otoo received a GH¢250,000.00 cheque for a three-bedroom house sponsored by GLICO Pension.
At the Ghana Teachers Prize 2021 Awards held in Sunyani, Reverend Sister Jacinta Kwakyewaa, a tutor at the St. Francis SH/Technical School in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region was adjudged the first runner-up and she received a brand new 4×4 pick-up vehicle from the Prudential Bank.
The National Teaching Council, organisers of the awards, presented a brand-new saloon car to Mr Nelson Saviour Kwashie of the Awutu Swinton SHS in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region for the second runner-up position.
Cash prizes ranging between GH¢5,000.00 and GH¢7,000.00 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.
Held on the theme: “Teachers Wanted: Reclaiming Teaching and Learning for a Human-Centered Recovery,” the awards funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) recognised the strenuous contributions of teachers towards the attainment of quality education as Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark the World Teachers Day.
World Teachers Day focuses on appreciating, assessing and improving the educators of the world and providing an opportunity to consider issues related to teachers and teaching.
Established in 1994, the day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 International Labour Organisation/UNESCO recommendation, concerning the Status of Teachers, which is a standard-setting instrument that addresses the status and situations of teachers around the world.
Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, Reverend Stephen Ntim Fordjour, a Deputy Minister of Education in-charge of General Education and Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo, also a Deputy Minister of Education in-charge of Technical-Vocation Education and Training (TVET) presented the prizes to the deserving teachers.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Gladys Amoah Konadu
