The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) on Wednesday outdoored 34 out of its 52 acquired second hand vehicles to be distributed to qualified applicants of loans under the Teachers Fund (TF) Vehicle Scheme. The 52 vehicles were purchased at a total cost of 2.25 billion cedis with government support by waiving taxes on their importation. Premier beneficiaries of the scheme, who came from the various regions of the country, with the Ashanti Region having the highest of 28, are expected to repay the loans within a period of between three to seven years, to make way for others to benefit. Mr Joseph Kwaku Agyei, National President, GNAT, at a ceremony to hand over the vehicles to the beneficiaries said the loan scheme under the Teachers Fund, was one of the many plans that the Association had to ensure that teachers lived comfortable and decent lives to help boost their performances. He said apart from providing vehicles to facilitate comfortable movement of teachers and raise their social status, the Association had advanced plans to further provide affordable housing schemes to ease the current accommodation problems that confront teachers. He explained that beneficiaries of the loan facility, which ranged between 30 to 50 million old Ghana cedis should be members of the Association, contributors to the TF, agree to register the vehicle under comprehensive insurance and repay loans between stipulated time, which ranged between three to seven years. He said membership to GNAT was opened to all teachers, who currently made a monthly contribution of 25,000 cedis to the TF, however the management of the Fund had agreed to increase contributions to 50, 000 effective January next year to ensure enough funding for its expanded projects and programmes. Mr Agyei advocated for greater collaboration between government, the Association as well as all stakeholders in education to ensure quality education and also a sustainable scheme. Mr Ofori Agyei, Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Fund said the facility would soon be expanded to include brand new vehicles instead of the current second hand as well as motorbikes. He appealed to beneficiaries to repay their loans on schedule for other applicant to benefit from the facility. He disclosed that the TF would finance approximately 150 vehicles next year to cater for a wider percentage of applicants. Mr Agyei called on other teachers who were not yet registered with GNAT to do so in order to benefit from the many programmes and projects and further secure strong advocating power for the progress of the teaching profession. Mrs Irene Duncan Adanusa, General-Secretary, GNAT, said teachers faced a lot of challenges under the new educational reforms and needed maximum support and collaboration from stakeholders to help make the work easier. She said the vehicle loan scheme as well as the affordable shelter project, if well sustained, would raise the standard of teachers and redeem the fallen image of the profession. "The humiliating living conditions of teachers in the country is currently being redeemed through various ways and we hope that teachers would grasp the opportunity to make their own lives better by contributing to the TF," she said. Mr Opoku Kyei, a Special Assistant to the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said government appreciated the work of teachers in ensuring quality education and was also committed to supporting every effort that would make life comfortable for them. He said the Ministry would ensure that the remaining vehicles reached the Association by the end of the week. Source: GNA