Government to introduce new yearly allowance for teachers

The government is set to introduce a new yearly allowance for teachers.

This new allowance is being called the Professional Teacher Allowance and will be a one-time payment yearly.

Professional teachers will receive GHS1,200 whilst non-professional teachers will receive GHS600.

In an address to Parliament, the Education Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh said this allowance “will enable teachers to invest in improving and upgrading their skills and keeping abreast with modern trends to assist in improving learning outcomes.”

Shedding more light on the allowance, the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr. Angel Carbonu, said the initiative has been captured in the upcoming conditions of service for teachers.

“It is very welcome to us. It is part of the negotiated conditions of service that we are about to sign with the Ministry [of Education] and the Ghana Education Service,” he said on Eyewitness News.

Commenting on the variance in the allowance for professional and non-professional teachers, Mr. Carbonu noted that the division was because the Service would no longer be recruiting non-professional services.

“They took into consideration the professional requirements and expectations of a professional teacher in renewing your license. They took that into consideration to calculate how much each person will get,” he explained further.

Mr. Carbonu also said teachers had put in place measures to ensure there is no disappointment from the government as has been seen over the years.

“What we have insisted is that it should be paid through the Controller and Accountant General. It should not go through any regional or district office education. It should also not be sent to any school to be paid to the teacher.”

The new conditions of service is expected to be signed within the next two weeks.