The Local Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) for Anomabo and Yamoransa in the Mfantseman Municipality, Samuel Alex Arthur, has observed the continuous use of black boards which generate a lot of dust is blinding a lot of teachers.
According to him, despite technological advancements, teachers in public schools continue to use chalkboards, a situation which he described as unfair treatment to teachers by the government.
He appealed to the government to, as matter of urgency, provide every classroom with white marker boards since most of the teachers cannot see properly due to the continuous use of chalkboards which have left them with various sight problems.
Mr Arthur made the point when the Yamoransa and Anomabo GNAT executives conducted a free health screening for its members including eye, sugar level tests, and breast screenings at Biriwa Polyclinic for its members to help them know their health status.
He urged his colleague teachers to check their health monthly, especially eyes due to the nature of the work.
“If a teacher is sick, work on the ground will be very minimal so there is the need for every teacher to check his or her health. Just last week my colleague teacher died even though he was fit and did know he was sick. I urge all my colleague teachers to visit any health facility to know their health status,” he urged.
On his part, the GNAT Chairman of Mfantseman Municipal, Padmore Arthur, said he and his executive members want the productivity of teaching and learning to be high within the municipality.
He promised to make sure that all the teachers are in good health so that they will be able to discharge their duties efficiently.
The Medical Doctor in charge of the eyes screening at Biriwa Polyclinic, Dr Emmanuel Arhin, confirmed that the majority of teachers who were screened have eye problems and urged them to take proper care of their sight.
“The eye is our light of the body so without the light you cannot move so it’s better for teachers to screen their eyes yearly for the doctors to detect any change which may cause harm to them in future,” he observed.