Ghana Education Service has put in place several interventions to improve the conditions of service for teachers and educational workers, workers in another sector of the economy have different forms of allowances which amount to half of their salary or more than their salary, teachers have no allowance they receive their raw basic salary at the end of the month.
Recently introduced teacher professional allowance has been taken from the teachers, teachers are paying more than the allowances paid to them for a training workshop, National Teaching Council (NTC) has specified twenty-one courses teachers are expected to complete to renew their teacher’s license every three years, without completion of the courses specified teachers will not be able to renew their license.
Teachers are paying from thirty Ghana cedis (GHS30) to hundred cedis (GHS100) per course, the total amount to be spent on the twenty-one courses is more than the amount paid to teachers as professional development allowance. Apart from the professional development allowance, there is no allowance on the teacher’s payslip except teachers in the Senior High Schools who are taken up additional responsibilities in the school are paid responsibility allowance.
Ghana Education Service and the teacher unions have agreed on several interventions for teachers and educational workers, if these allowances are implemented, teachers will be better off and the teaching profession will be attractive.
Other interventions are salary advance, rent advance, medical allowance, vehicle maintenance allowance, supporting teachers to own means of transport, payment of an allowance for teachers in the deprived areas and accommodation allowance for teachers.
Ghana Education Service, the Teacher Unions and Toyota Ghana have entered into negotiations to support teachers to own their means of transportation. Toyota Ghana to produce small engine capacity cars for teachers, Government will subsidise the cost and teachers will pay the remaining amount by instalments for 84 months.
An amount of two hundred and ten Ghana cedis per month will be paid to teachers as a car maintenance allowance.
Accommodation and rent advance for teachers to be implemented in 2022. Teachers are struggling for accommodation and the government keeps on with empty promises of affordable housing schemes and accommodation allowance, Saglemi affordable house can be given to teachers and other public sector workers.
The number of interventions on paper for teachers and education workers when implemented, the condition of service for teachers will be better. Ministry of Education, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the teacher unions agreed to provide an affordable housing scheme for teachers, it’s over five years now, not a single housing unit has been built.
Great move, major concerns should be on the affordable housing and other allowances.
For the Toyota vehicle it should be optional.