The government of Ghana has paid teachers their first-ever teachers’ professional development allowance. The Minister of Education in October 2020 hinted that teachers will be paid the allowance along with their November 2020 salary.
Teachers’ salary validation began on 19th November 2020 and GhanaEducation.org can confirm that the allowance has reflected on the payslips of teachers’ as they go through their usual pay validation process.
Members of the chalk fraternity have reacted to the payment of the Professional Development allowance news via social media and are generally excited about it. However, the Allowance was hit by a tax of 18% which has not gone down will teachers.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh earlier in the year disclosed that the allowance was to resource teachers to invest in themselves to help improve and upgrade their skills. This he believed would keep teachers abreast with modern trends in education and the teaching profession. This is expected to also help the government to improve learning outcomes at the pre-tertiary level.
A total of GH¢1,200 per year for professional teachers was paid whiles and GH¢800 was paid to non-professional teachers as announced earlier. Teachers are to use the allowance to cater for their professional upgrade and development.
The Teachers Continuous Professional Development allowance is expected to be paid once a year in December.
Teacher motivation is a critical issue that needs to be addressed if Ghana’s education is to improve. This and other factors informed the government’s decision to initiate this policy reform and implement it. It also aims at positioning Pre-Tertiary teachers and empowers them to acquire relevant skills and training that will make them more effective and efficient on the job.
In the long run, motivated teachers are expected to give off their best in the classroom and deliver quality teaching and learning outcomes to their pupils and students.
Most teachers in Ghana have been home for nearly nine months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: GhanaEducation.Org