STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL UNION OF GHANA STUDENTS (NUGS) ON 5TH OCTOBER, 2011, “WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY” – TEACHERS DESERVE BETTER AND EQUITABLE WORKING CONDITIONS World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5th October to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. It also commemorates the anniversary of the 1966 signature of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. The theme for this year is “Teachers for Gender Equality.” As we celebrate World Teachers’ Day, let us make time to express our gratitude to our teachers nationwide who, for love of our youth and our country, have espoused their noble professions. It is an opportunity for Ghana to celebrate the teaching profession and to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and national development. Education International (EI) General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, renders this aptly when he said: “On this day we pay homage to teachers’ vital contribution to the intellectual, social and economic development of societies.” Teachers have a very special place in the society. They have the instinct to recognize talent and nurture it. They are the creators of responsible citizens, who contribute to the society in one way or the other. Ironically, the teachers’ conditions are still very unacceptable and in many cases too, the need for a better teaching environment is immense. For us as students of Ghana we wish to use this opportunity to sound a clarion call to government to hasten the adoption and implementation of the bill before parliament granting Teacher Trainee Institutions a Tertiary Status. Again, government should move swiftly in line with it promise of eliminating all schools under trees, expand facilities at our teacher training colleges and establish new ones to train more teachers to cater for the shortage of teachers, particularly in deprived communities. “The shortage of qualified teachers is one of the biggest challenges to achieving the Education for All (EFA) goals.” Ghana is no exception to this challenge. There must be enough incentives to attract qualified teachers to such disadvantaged areas. Such incentives may include special allowances for teachers who accept postings to those areas, provision of adequate learning and teaching materials to all schools and, accessible long distance professional development education for teachers in the disadvantaged areas.” Joe Kingsley Eyiah. As we acknowledge our teachers for playing a crucial role in the overall development of our dear nation, we also wish to use this same opportunity to encourage our teachers to exercise a lot of patience, tact and discipline in discharging their duties to protect the dignity and nobility of the teaching profession. High quality education is the foundation for creating and sustaining socially just societies, and teachers stand at the centre of this process. On this World Teachers’ Day we call on government, parents, communities, national and international institutions to renew their commitment to teachers and teaching, and to commit to equality in education and society. Teachers are considered the mentors, who not only guide a person academically, but also instill moral and ethical values in him/her. They are the molders of the body politic of society; if we wish to do well as a country then we ought to make teachers our priority as a nation. Therefore, the importance of every society having competent, qualified and motivated teachers cannot be underscored. Here we are reminded of the words of Theresa Grimm “Without teacher appreciation there cannot be any student progress.” NUGS thus recognizes that showing teacher appreciation is a positive and necessary yearly action. If there is anything that will offer our teachers’ genuine fulfillment, it is for government and all stakeholders to provide better and equitable working conditions for teachers. Signed: PETER KWASI KODJIE (President) (Tel: 0242879028) NOBI COURAGE (General Secretary) (Tel: 0206497320)