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Ghana: ISODEC Gingers Teachers On
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Public Agenda (Accra)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Bolga
The Executive Director of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Mr. Bishop Akolgo has said the teacher's role as a mentor and trainer of the future leaders of the nation is such an important function that the commitment of the teacher to the performance of that role should not be based purely on financial reward.
"Yours is truly a calling, not a profession in the same bracket as others. The duty of modeling the child into a responsible adult, whose actions and behaviour will be socially acceptable and responsible, lies in your hands and this, you should see as a calling," he said.
Mr. Akolgo made the observation at the opening session of a two-day capacity building workshop organized by the Bolgatanga regional office of ISODEC for about 40 teachers and district girl child officers selected as mentors under the Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Programme
The Ambassadors girls Scholarship Programme (AGSP) is part of the Africa Education Initiative of US President Bush and is implemented throughout Africa and will provide 550,000 scholarships to school children, mostly girls, in sub-Saharan Africa. World Education Incorporated (WEI) manages the West Africa region of the program with about 40 local partners of which ISODEC is one in 12 West African countries.
Mr. Akolgo disclosed that this year alone, a total of 1078 scholars, made up of 818 girls and 260 boys from 4 districts; namely Bongo District, Garu-Tempane district and Bawku Municipal, all in the Upper East region and west Mamprusi District, Walewale in the Northern are currently receiving full scholarships administered by ISODEC.
The package he said, includes books, school uniform, footwear and school supplies. Additionally, a maxi bag of either millet or maize is given to each scholar during the lean season when food is scarce to take home so that the children will have something to eat in the morning before going to school and in the evening when back home. Scholars living over 4 kilometers from their schools have also been given bicycles to reduce the time they spend before reaching school.
According to Mr. Akolgo, Northern Ghana is still 150 years behind the rest of the country in education and educational development and that this imbalance, with its negative effects, is impacting more on the girl child. He therefore called on the mentors to let their work affect not only the scholars but their parents, since many children undergo primary socialization under their parents.
He said the AGSP programme gives true meaning to the rights based approach to development, women's empowerment and poverty reduction, which are core to ISODEC's work and proves the point that disadvantaged groups such as orphans, children of HIV/AIDS ridden parents, children from poverty stricken homes and the girl-child from a patriarchal society require special policy attention beyond general policy measures such as capitation grants and school feeding Programmes, to be able to access, remain and complete basic education and progress to higher level.
Bishop therefore called on the state to look out for such innovative ways of reaching out to the disadvantaged in society and incorporate them into policy design and implementation.
On his part, the Upper East Regional Manager of ISODEC, Mr. Jonathan Adabre said the two-day capacity building workshop became necessary following some weaknesses identified from the field. He said during their school monitoring visits, they identified that a weak relationship between scholars and their facilitators had translated into a weak communication link between school authorities, community members, the district Girl Child officers and the ISODEC office and that, this had constrained information flow regarding scholars' home behaviors and how to address difficulties arising from the home environment.
Mr. Adabre said with the training, he hoped all the AGSP mentors/facilitators and the district girl child officers will go back to their "various schools with renewed strength, more knowledge and a better understanding of what is it that each one of us needs to do to empower our pupils."
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The Upper East Regional Girl Child Officer, Ms. Sylvia Samari who chaired the function advised the teachers to take the roles assigned them seriously since they are the pivot of girl child education and empowerment. She was happy that an increasing number of men are now championing women's issues, saying "this is a demonstration that women's problems are society's problems and thus requires the contribution of all members of society to resolve."
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