Why Are Ghanaian Teachers So Marginalized and Suffering? The Bureaucratic Nightmare

Easy to deal with challenges the Ghanaian teacher faces that the GES takes forever to deal with have indeed created enmity between the teacher and the GES at all times to date. Why Are Ghanaian Teachers So Marginalised? The Bureaucratic Nightmare Within the systems and processes, as well as the politically skewed decisions and choices made by the political appointees, have significantly eroded the best practices that the GES should have had in place by now. 

Why Are Ghanaian Teachers So Marginalised and Suffering?

The Ghanaian teacher stands as one of the most marginalised government workers in Ghana, facing numerous unwarranted challenges. Over the years, the government of Ghana, through its relevant public institutions, has cultivated unprofessional and excessively bureaucratic cultures and procedures. These systemic issues impede the efficient and effective management of nearly all aspects of teacher management, including recruitment, promotion, and other related services. Consequently, a persistent and recurring problem plagues every stage of a teacher’s career, from initial recruitment and deployment to remuneration, transfer, and promotion.

The Ghanaian teacher has, regrettably, become a mere puppet in the hands of public officials, a situation that urgently demands an end. Despite the advancements in technology, teachers continue to grapple with the burden of excessive paperwork. Furthermore, they are frequently required to be physically present at various levels of engagement, be it at district, metro, regional, or national offices.

Adding to the frustrations of teachers seeking recruitment or promotion is the pervasive presence of middlemen. These individuals exploit the inefficiencies within the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education, charging teachers for services that these institutions should readily provide. This intermediary layer further inflates the cost associated with accessing essential teacher-related services.

Ghanaian teachers are so marginalised and suffering because of the wrong choices made and the continuous use of ineffective approaches to resolving problems that have been with the GES for several decades. 

The fundamental question arises: why should newly recruited teachers endure months without their salaries simply because their identification cards have not been generated? In an era of technological advancement, why can’t the recruitment process be streamlined? Could teachers not be recruited at the district level and then provided with specific dates to complete their posting processes at a central location, where they receive their IDs before departing? The GES’s consistent failure to issue staff IDs to teachers promptly and proactively is undeniably deterring many young individuals from entering the teaching profession. It is disheartening to note the frequency with which teachers are in the news, voicing complaints about basic processes and documents that the GES should handle seamlessly.

Currently, when a school faces a shortage of teachers, the cumbersome process involves publishing vacancies in letter form and resorting to social media to attract applicants. Why hasn’t the GES developed and upgraded its existing online portal to allow schools with subject-specific vacancies to upload them for qualified individuals to apply? Ideally, these applicants should be professional teachers who have met all GES requirements but are yet to be employed, rather than those seeking transfers from other schools. Allowing already recruited teachers to transfer merely shifts the vacancy from one school to another, without addressing the core issue. The failure to pay teachers their due salaries for extended periods raises serious concerns about their ability to survive and meet their basic needs.

Ghanaian teachers are so marginalised and suffering and the GES has failed its employees. 

The call to action is clear for the GES

Pay teachers their outstanding eight months’ salaries and cease this gradual financial deprivation. The majority of teachers reside in rented accommodations and face regular rent obligations; they have families and children to support. Landlords and landladies are relentlessly pursuing them for rent and utility payments, forcing many to rely on credit and the charity of others, if available. By withholding salaries for such a prolonged duration, the GES demonstrates a profound insensitivity to the well-being of its employees, negatively impacting their mental and emotional state. How can these dedicated educators be expected to perform their duties effectively when treated with such disregard?

The stagnation of promotions for lower-ranked teachers over an eight-year period is deeply demoralising. This protracted delay creates a situation where teachers who have met all the necessary requirements remain on the same scale, position, and salary for an inordinate amount of time. It is imperative that the GES adopts proactive measures to address these significant demotivating factors within the teaching profession.

The previous government’s alleged “scam” involving teacher recruitment for political gain in the lead-up to the 2024 election is a matter of regret. Today, the phrase “Pending for consideration” has become a common and concerning status for university graduates who have applied for posting on the GES portal.

Without hesitation, it must be stated that the Ghana Education Service is mistreating its employees, the teachers, while paradoxically expecting them to be content. The university-educated teachers who were posted to villages around the time of the election are enduring hardship – lacking staff IDs and salaries – yet the expectation is that they should be satisfied. The Minister of Education and the Director General must remember that their positions are not permanent; the distress of these innocent teachers will undoubtedly have lasting consequences.

Ghanaian teachers are dedicated to their work and give their best. The current treatment they face sends a disheartening message, suggesting that the government, the Ministry of Education, and the Ghana Education Service are not genuinely concerned about the holistic well-being, morale, and safety of educators.

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If teachers were to dedicate the same level of effort to their work as the GES demonstrates in its treatment of them, the nation’s educational system would undoubtedly collapse. The current approach of the GES towards teachers at various levels is frankly exasperating. The time for significant improvement in systems and processes is long overdue. These systems must become seamless and responsive to the needs of teachers and the cyclical demands within the GES calendar. When undertaking teacher recruitment, it is crucial to ensure that the systems are flawless and responsive and that the processes are time-bound, thereby establishing an internal framework for both efficiency and effectiveness.