NTC to add ‘Best University Teacher’ category to 2023 GTP

The management of the National Teaching Council (NTC) is considering adding a Best University Teacher category to the 28th edition of the Ghana Teacher Prize scheduled for the 2023 academic year, a staff of the Council has disclosed.

Speaking at this year’s National Education Week on the theme “Re-assessing educational policies for effective delivery and national transformation,” monitored by AcademicWeek, the NTC official said the move is to award more teachers.

“Plans are that we should add the best university teachers, I am sure from next year if discussions are well crystallised we may be venturing into adding Best University Teacher into the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) category,” he stated.

A new award category dubbed the ‘Teacher in Leadership’ was included in the 2022 edition of the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) by the Teaching Council to ensure hardworking teachers in various government schools are awarded accordingly.

Speaking at the 2022 Teacher Prize launch of the theme “the Transformation of Education begins with Teachers, “he said the new category is to acknowledge and appreciate outstanding leadership traits in Ghana’s educational sector.

“The Most Outstanding Teacher in Leadership will get a saloon car, First Runner-up receives a cash prize, Second Runner-up gets a cash prize,” the Executive Director of the NTC, Dr Christian Addai told stakeholders at the launch.

Since 2018, the NTC staff indicated that categories such as Best Primary School Teacher, Best Junior High School Teacher, Best Senior High School Teacher and Best TVET School teacher have all been included in the award scheme.

In a related development, 34-year-old Stella Gyimah Larbi of Adenta Community School in Adenta Municipality of the Greater Accra Region has been adjudged the 2022 National Best Teacher at Teacher Prize ceremony held on October 5.

She was awarded a three-bedroom house worth GHC300,000 for being the most outstanding teacher for 2022. Madam Stella received the award at the Ghana Teacher Prize ceremony at the University of Development Studies, Tamale.

Ms Fati Issifu, an English teacher at Buipe Girls Model School, was named the first runner-up, and David Harrison Mensah, a Basic Design and Technology teacher at Sefwi Bekwai SDA JHS, was adjudged the second runner-up.

The 2022 edition of the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) is the 27th, since its establishment in 1995 and the 5th, since the rebrand from Best Teacher Award to Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) in 2018 to conform to global standards.