Haruna Iddrisu (2nd from left), Minister of Education, and Dr Christian Addai-Poku (left), Registrar, National Teaching Council, presenting a citation to Tanko Musah (2nd from right), General Secretary, Ghana National Association of Teachers. With them is Maamle Andrews (right), Chief Director, Ministry of Education. Picture: BENEDICT OBUOBI

We’ll implement 20% allowance for rural teachers — Haruna Iddrisu

Joshua Bediako Koomson Feb - 14 - 2025 , 09:57 2 minutes read

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has reaffirmed the government's commitment to honour its promise of offering a 20 per cent allowance to teachers who accept postings to rural areas.

He said the allowance policy would be implemented as part of broader efforts to enhance the welfare of educators working in underserved communities.

In line with that, the minister said discussions were ongoing with the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to realign fiscal policies and also allocate resources from the Common Fund to provide accommodation for teachers in rural areas.

“If we get the President’s approval, we should be able to roll it out this year,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu was speaking at the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP) Sponsors' Appreciation Breakfast Meeting in Accra yesterday.

Awards

At the event, 12 teachers were rewarded for their hard work and dedication to the teaching profession.

The Most Outstanding Teacher Award went to Fuseina Fuseini of Madina SDA Basic 1 School; Richard Kojo Adomako of Uaddara Basic School was the first runner-up while Diana-E Rose of Aburi Girls’ SHS came up as the second runner-up.

Funding

The minister further stressed the need for additional funding to improve the country’s education sector.

He expressed hope that the Minister of Finance would succeed in engaging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to uncap the GETFund and enable the government to secure more resources to finance education.

Mr Iddrisu outlined a proposed resource allocation formula of 40 per cent of education funding to go to teacher education while 20 to 25 per cent would be allocated to Free Senior High School, with the remaining portion going into basic education.

He urged educators to adopt empathy, patience and strong communication skills in their teaching approach to create a positive learning atmosphere for students.

“You are impacting the life of students, both in the classroom and in their long-term success. Whether they will succeed or not, hinges on the quality of our teachers.

“I'll take the opportunity to admonish many of our teachers to let empathy and patience continue to be their hallmark. Let strong communication skills guide you in your teaching,” Mr Iddrisu added.

Curriculum reforms

The minister also raised concerns about the disconnect between university curricula and industry needs and said that universities must put more effort into science, engineering, and mathematics education to secure the country’s future workforce.

He urged them to also review their programmes to align with national manpower demands.

Mr Iddrisu lauded the sponsors of the Teachers Award for their role in motivating and supporting teachers across the country.