In light of Ghana’s participation in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) extended credit facility programme, President Nana Akufo Addo has guaranteed that allowances for nurses and teachers in training will not be affected.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Ghana’s US$3 billion, 36-month arrangement in May 2023. The first installment of US$600 million was made immediately.
However, the US$3 billion IMF bailout that the government has secured comes with a set of conditions designed to solve the underlying financial crises, maintain financial discipline, and promote sustainable economic growth.
A number of economists have argued that the payment of nursing and teacher trainee allowances should be abolished to free up financial resources.
On the other hand, Senior Presidential Advisor Yaw Osafo-Maafo has said that the government strongly protected nursing and teacher trainee allowances as part of its social intervention programmes during negotiations with the IMF on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at the 175th Anniversary and Prize Giving Day of the Presbyterian College of Education in Akropong-Akuapem in the Eastern region.
“Teacher trainees present, I know that the difficulty in the economic landscape that has resulted in the government’s signing up for a programme with the International Monitory Fund (IMF) may cause you some concern. But none of the allowances of the teaching profession will be affected by our programme with the IMF,” he said.
“There were certain things that were not to be touched, and the teacher allowance was one of such protected allowances. The difficulty in prompt payment is coming from our own mobilisation of resources and not the IMF. Once you have it, you can be sure that teachers allowances and the rest of it will be honoured appropriately.”
He reaffirmed the government’s dedication to investing in teachers and their profession in order to guarantee an adequate education for the people. The adoption of teacher licencing, for example, was cited by President Akufo-Addo as a way to elevate the status of the teaching profession.
“The introduction of licencing examinations for teachers, for example, was done in the utmost good fate. It is aimed at lifting the image of the profession and avoiding situations where unqualified persons could pose as teachers and, in the process, bring the profession into disrepute.”
He continued, “It is my expectation that interventions such as the distribution of laptops and the payment of continuous professional development allowance to teachers will systematically improve the capacity and morale among the teaching profession and our teachers.”
