MTN Ghana Foundation has announced the launch of the second edition of its Teachers’ Improvement Awards Programme.
The scholarship award programme is a scheme to financially assist teachers who wish to upgrade their education at the undergraduate or master’s level at the University of Cape Coast or University of Education, Winneba.
The Teachers’ Improvement Awards Programme has been designed to assist teachers in first and second cycle public institutions who seek to further their education in Science, Mathematics or English. Submission of applications is requested from 1st September to 20th September, 2016. The criteria for selection of applicants are that they must be a citizen of Ghana, have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience, be teaching in a public institution at the time of the application, and commit to returning to either that institution or another public institution upon completion of the sponsored programme as shall be approved by the foundation. Applicants shall be bonded to remain in the teaching service for a minimum of five years upon completion of the first degree and three years for the master’s programme.
The other requirements are that an applicant must not be older than 50 years at the time of the application and should complete a set of application forms. The programme is opened to teachers who wish to pursue courses in English, science (Integrated Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and mathematics education only and have qualified for admission to University of Cape Coast or University of Education, Winneba before applying.
Commenting on the second edition of the project, the Corporate Services Executive of MTN Ghana, Mrs Cynthia Lumor, indicated that the MTN Ghana Foundation was committing resources to enable teachers upgrade their skills because research had shown that an informed teacher remained the most important factor influencing student development and achievement.
“It is critical to pay closer attention to how we train and support our teachers. Great teachers help produce great students,” she said.
A shortlisting exercise will be carried out by a panel of judges who are distinguished personalities in academia, after which a list of the successful candidates will be published in select newspapers.
The MTN Teacher Improvement project was launched by the MTN Ghana Foundation in June 2015. At the end of the maiden edition, 20 teachers were selected by the judges, with nine selected to pursue first degree programmes and eleven for graduate degree courses. Out of the 20, seven beneficiaries are pursuing courses in mathematics, seven in English, and six in science programmes.
