Richard W. Timob
The Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has lauded Ghanaian teachers for their unwavering dedication, resilience, and sacrifice in nurturing the nation’s human resource base, emphasising that their role remains central to Ghana’s development agenda.
Speaking at the 2025 Ghana Teacher Prize ceremony held at the Cedi Auditorium of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho, Professor Opoku-Agyemang reaffirmed government’s commitment to improving teacher welfare and strengthening the education sector.
“As we celebrate our teachers, we honour their hard work and devotion to duty. Education is the lifeblood of our democracy, the backbone of our economic progress, and a key driver of national research and innovation,” she stated.
The Vice President stressed that Ghana’s vision of achieving quality and equitable education with a strong focus on foundational learning, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)  hinges on empowering teachers.
“Teachers are central to the talent, skills, and attitudes that will drive the 24-hour economy and our overall national development.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang paid glowing tribute to the late former President Jerry John Rawlings for instituting the Best Teacher Award scheme in 1994, describing it as a visionary initiative that continues to reward excellence in teaching, particularly among those serving under difficult conditions.
“Over 30 years later, the scheme continues to honour teachers who have chosen service over stress, sacrifice over comfort, and nation-building over personal gain,” she pointed out.
The Vice President stated that the Mahama-led administration has been working over the past nine months to strengthen institutions and improve teacher conditions.
Among the key interventions, she mentioned the “Teacher Debre Initiative,” plans to include teacher accommodation in all new school projects, and measures to make the promotion of hardworking deputy directors more efficient.
She further disclosed that trainee teachers will soon be able to write their licensure examinations within their training institutions to simplify the process.
Additionally, through the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), over 60,000 teachers have been trained in digital literacy, modern pedagogy, and inclusive education practices under the National Digital Teacher Training Programme.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang referenced a UNESCO study identifying mental health as a major challenge to achieving quality education by 2030. She announced that the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES), and teacher unions have rolled out nationwide capacity-building programmes on mental health and psychosocial support for pre-tertiary teachers.
Richard W. Timob of the Savelugu Senior High School in the Northern Region was crowned Ghana’s Most Outstanding Teacher for 2025, receiving a fully furnished three-bedroom house as his prize.
Other awardees also received saloon cars, pickup trucks, motorbikes, cash prizes, laptops, and “School-in-a-Box” teaching kits for Most Outstanding Kindergarten Teacher.
The event was held under the theme “Elevating the Status of Teachers for Quality Education.”
The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, reaffirmed his ministry’s commitment to improving teacher welfare and working conditions, recognising educators as the “backbone of Ghana’s education system.”
“This is an auspicious occasion to celebrate our teachers; the backbone of our educational system. Teachers shape the minds and characters of our students and, by extension, the destiny of our nation,” he stressed.
Mr. Iddrisu disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama’s administration is prioritising the resolution of long-standing infrastructural and welfare challenges in the sector. He revealed that the President has directed the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, to initiate a new policy dubbed “University-Related Roads,” to improve access roads to tertiary institutions nationwide.
He further announced plans to expand the University for Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) with a new campus in Keta, which will host the School of Pharmacy and School of Biomedical Engineering.
“We know that teachers are paid very low, and we will correct those imbalances. We will rise to the occasion and uplift the teaching profession,” he assured.
Mr. Iddrisu further cautioned teachers against any form of misconduct or abuse of students, emphasising that the ministry would uphold strict professional standards.
“Any teacher who takes advantage of students will be punished. No teacher is above the law,” he added.
To the students present, he urged discipline, integrity, and hard work as key principles for personal and national success.
The President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Rev. Isaac Owusu, urged the government to address key challenges facing teachers, including delayed salaries for over 6,000 newly recruited staff, inequalities in salary structure, and inadequate housing and professional development support.
He emphasised that teachers are not only classroom instructors but also community leaders and nation-builders.
The Ghana Teacher Prize, organised annually by the National Teaching Council (NTC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and its partners, celebrates exceptional teachers and education professionals whose dedication continues to transform education and inspire future generations.
FROM Daniel K. Orlando, Ho