By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, Feb. 25, GNA – Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Education Minister-designate, says given the difficulty some teachers faced in getting transportation to school, the Mahama-led government has plans to support teachers own vehicles for duty-bound purposes.
He referred to instances where some teachers report to school very late and sometimes absent themselves from school because of lack of transport as the basis for the decision.
Dr Apaak, also the Member of Parliament for Builsa South in the Upper East Region, gave the assurance when he appeared before the Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, for vetting.
Dr Apaak believed that teachers were very important variable in the education system and would support efforts to upgrade themselves through professional courses and champion their welfare to give of their best.
The Government, he said, would re-instate the Parents/Teacher Associations (PTAs) to serve as a platform to dialogue about challenges in schools and mobilise resources to support educational facilities.
He mentioned plans to complete the e-blocks and other educational infrastructure projects abandoned by the previous government.
On measures to curb examination malpractices, Dr Apaak believed that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) must be adequately resourced to deploy their own invigilators to supervise writing of examinations, instead of engaging private individuals.
Additionally, he said, there must be a mechanism where examination papers would be serialised so that candidates would answer different questions of the same paper in the same examination centre.
Dr Apaak believed that the supply of both manual textbooks and electronic educational materials was relevant to complement each other to ensure a holistic approach to teaching and learning.
The nominee pledged his commitment to supporting the substantive minister to implement the policies of President John Mahama’s government in the education sector.
GNA