For a profession that shapes every other profession, the question hanging over the maiden Atinka Teachers Forum was simple: Are Ghana’s teachers receiving the recognition and support they deserve?
At the Sika Hall of Tobinco Media Group (TMG), in Accra, teachers, union leaders, education experts and other stakeholders gathered to discuss the challenges confronting those at the heart of Ghana’s education system.
The Director of Television at Atinka TV, Cynthia Akans, set the tone by describing teachers as builders of dreams. She said Ghana could not demand excellence from teachers while ignoring their welfare.
“We cannot ask them to shape the future of our children while leaving their own concerns unattended,” she said.
But the forum was not only about demands from government. Speakers also challenged teachers to look inward.
The UTAG Vice-President of the University of Education, Winneba, Dr Tutu Boahen, warned against politicising teachers’ welfare and called for stronger and more united labour unions.
“Teachers do not wear political shirts to the classroom,” he said, stressing that division weakens their collective voice.
William Boadi of the Educate Africa Institute took the criticism further, arguing that sabotage, favouritism and unhealthy competition among teachers were also hurting the profession.
“No one is our enemy; we are our own enemies,” he said.
President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Prosper Tackie, focused on the implementation of teachers’ conditions of service, saying several benefits existed but were often difficult to access.
He encouraged teachers to explore legitimate opportunities while remaining committed to their primary responsibility of educating students.
Other speakers urged teachers to explore opportunities beyond their monthly salaries. Martin Luther Obeng of Radford University College challenged teachers to create value and use their numbers to build economic power.
The Executive Director of GNACOPS, Akwasi Gyentua, also called for greater social benefits, including support for the education of teachers’ children.
By the end of the forum, one message stood out: improving education begins with improving the lives of teachers.
The maiden Atinka Teachers Forum may have started as a conversation, but participants hope it will lead to lasting solutions for Ghana’s teachers and the future they help to build.
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Ghana|Atinkaonline.com|Ebenezer Madugu
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