The Minister for Education has advised graduating teacher trainees of the Jackson College of Education (JCE) to uphold high moral values and the tenets for which they have been trained.

The graduands have been advised to bear in mind that the teaching profession espouses sacrifices, discipline, commitment and dedication, and that these attributes if sidelined could jeopardize their career ambitions.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the sector Minister, said teachers, arguably, are the most important members of society.

“They give children purpose, set them up for success as citizens of our world, and inspire in them a drive to do well and succeed in life,” he noted.

Dr Adutwum, in a speech read on his behalf by Rev John Ntim Fordjour, a deputy minister for education at the 9th Congregation of JCE, held virtually at its Ayeduase New Site Campus, said, “children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and it is they who make the child ready for his or her future.”

The ceremony saw a total of 1, 924 trained teachers, comprising 803 males and 1121 females awarded certificates.

Jackson College of Education, established in 2009, is the teacher education division of the Jackson Educational Complex (JEC) and accredited to run a three-year Diploma Programme in Basic Education through Distance Learning.

The College, adhering to the concept of continuous development and life-long learning, has over the years produced 14, 000 teachers, whose services are currently put at the disposal of the nation, especially in deprived communities.

With its 29 learning centres across 13 regions in Ghana, students go through a carefully structured and learner-oriented distance education programme, supervised by the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

Dr Adutwum pointed out that no society could register socio-economic development without the inputs and contributions of teachers.

The government, he said, would therefore be worthy partners of the JCE Management in their efforts to produce quality teachers for the nation.

“If you visit any economy and you find economists, professors, lawyers, researchers, engineers, medical officers, artificial intelligence experts, industrial experts and other professionals, they all ride on the shoulders of teachers,” he observed.

The Reverend Father Anthony Afful-Broni, Vice-Chancellor, UEW, in a message delivered on his behalf, congratulated the graduating teachers for living up to expectation, saying they should be mindful of the responsibilities of the teacher in the discharge of their duties.

Mrs Theodosia Wilhemina Jackson, Principal of the JCE, said the College has always adhered to best practices in line with quality assurance measures put in place by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and its affiliate institution, the UEW. “This has translated into the on-field successes achieved by our graduates,” she affirmed, saying the JCE was happy to have contributed significantly to Ghana’s human resource development in its educational journey.

Mr Anthony Gyasi-Fosu, the Council Chairman of JCE, assured that the institution would not deviate from its core mandate of training committed teachers for society.