According to the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr Maxwell Qophy Blagodzi, who made the statement, the world was changing rapidly, a situation which called for the education of the young generation to centre on personality development, adding that, “Our teachers must move from 'note teaching' to more progressive teaching methods such as project-based learning.”

Addressing delegates at the 26th annual General Assembly of the Volta Sector of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) at Akatsi, the deputy minister indicated that the role of teachers needed to be redefined to bring the best out of pupils to enable them to be game changers.

According to him, teachers would be able to impart such knowledge only when they equipped themselves while under training.

Quality training

The deputy minister said, “Our colleges of education must, therefore, train our teacher trainees to be capable of identifying problems and find innovative ways to address them”, adding that “this will create the opportunity for them to excel beyond the classroom.”

Mr  Blagodzi said the government was focused on effectively supporting the development of teachers for the nation’s good and for that matter it had restored the teacher trainee allowances to facilitate the development and education of teachers.

He said as teacher trainees, the country’s development should be dear to their hearts, and as such they should adequately prepare the young minds for responsible adulthood.

The meeting, on the theme 'the quest to develop Ghana: The need to prioritise quality teacher education', was for the trainee teachers to discuss issues concerning teacher education in the education sector and how to champion the cause of the trainees, especially in the Volta Region.

The President of the Volta sector of TTAG, Mr Larry K. Agbador, said the fight for quality education should not be a task for TTAG alone, urging the government to always prioritise quality teacher education.

He commended the past government for its contribution towards the education sector and further lauded the current government for collaborating with the leadership front of TTAG for peaceful negotiations.

 Akatsi College of Education

He called for support for the Akatsi College of Education which suffered a recent fire outbreak leading to the destruction of one of the female dormitories and appealed for the supply of mattresses to the college.

The National Programme Manager of Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL), Mr Akwasi Addae-Boahene, called for a national vision for teachers, stating that there was the need for a teacher education curriculum that catered for the current demands of Ghana’s development.