The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare has criticized what he perceives as the lack of proper prioritization of allocation of state resources in the country’s education sector.
The leader of the education-focused think-tank group in a scathing critique of Ghana’s education system, attributed the mounting teacher agitations for employment from the Ghana Education Service (GES) to the failure of the government to properly utilize resources in the education sector.
Commenting on the alarming frustration among several educators, who have completed school with some claiming to have “languished” at home since 2020 due to a lack of employment opportunities, Mr Asare called for urgent actions.
He further stated that the inability of the government to recruit new teachers in the education sector is primarily due to lack of adequate funds, stating that teacher recruitment is contingent upon available funds.
“After the nurses, I hear the teachers are also planning to hit the streets over delayed recruitment. Some claim they have been home since 2020, which is concerning. Perhaps, every week, Eduwatch receives more petitions from teachers seeking GES recruitment than the GES itself. Teacher recruitment is a function of cash”.
Kofi Asare , Executive Director Eduwatch
Furthermore, Mr Kofi Asare particularly criticized the ruling government’s decision to pay teacher trainees allowances instead of investing the amount of money spent on such an initiative on teacher recruitment and school infrastructure.
He noted with deep concerns that between 2020 and 2024, the government has spent a staggering amount of GHC 1 billion on the payment of Teacher Trainees Allowance, describing the expenditure as a “wasteful political policy”
The payment of the allowance in the view of Mr Asare detracts from a more sustainable solution, which is the guarantor-free student loan scheme, that is accessible to all tertiary students in the country with just a Ghana Card.
According to him, the amount spent on funding teacher trainees’ allowances by the government is not a “windfall” but rather a portion of the Ministry of Education’s salary budget.
Opportunity Cost of Teacher Trainee Allowance
Assessing the opportunity cost for the payment of the teacher trainee allowances, Mr Asare strongly asserted that the same funds could have facilitated the employment and payment of salaries for at least 4,000 teachers annually.
Commenting on the refusal of the current government to cancel the payment of the teacher trainees against sound advice, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch disclosed that the implications are direr.
He underscored the negative repercussions of the government actions, stating that the payment of the teacher trainee allowances comes at the expense of potential teacher recruitment.
In an impassionate call for action, Mr Asare admonished political leaders to refrain from promising Ghanaian students especially those in the various teacher trainee colleges across the country that it would provide further allowances in exchange for votes ahead of the December 7 polls.
He emphasized that such action even though could help political leaders to capture political power, has the tendency to put pressure on the country’s meagre resources when they are elected into power.
The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch concluded his remarks by also calling on Ghanaians to demand accountability from political leaders ahead of the electioneering campaign.
He stressed the need for all citizens to demand from political leaders, particularly among the two main political parties their firm commitment to cancel the payment of allowances to both teacher and nursing trainee students and further promise to reallocate such funds to bolster teacher recruitment budgets annually and granting adequate funds to the student loan scheme on time.
