Make teaching attractive, make teachers financially independent

All teachers are saying is for government to make teaching attractive. The tendency of political leadership to make disheartening comments about the teaching profession and teachers instead of using their position to promote teacher welfare, teacher morale and make the profession attractive leaves much to be desired. 

The average monthly salary of teachers in the US is $5000/Month and in Switzerland, it is $9166/ month. In Ghana is  GHS2,580 which translates into $452/ month. How do you create the opportunity for teachers in Ghana to become millionaires with this kind of income? Should the minimum salary of a teacher be at least a net pay of GHS5000.00, teachers will be better positioned to save more and invest in other businesses to build capital and become financially independent.

Countries With The Highest Teachers Salary In The World. 

1. Switzerland – Average Salary – $110,000.
2. Luxembourg- Average Salary – $100,000.
3. Canada – Average Salary – $74,000.
4. Germany. Average Salary – $70,000.
5. Netherlands – Average Salary – $67,000.
6. Australia -Average Salary – $67,000.
7. United States – Average Salary – $60,000.

Make teaching attractive because that is what the teacher was promised going into the 2020 general elections. Ghanaians voted and entrusted power in the hands of politicians, believing that they will use state resources to better the lives of ordinary people, including teachers.

Teachers deserve more attention in terms of better conditions of service than members of parliament but it is sad that the reverse is true and the conditions of teachers do not come near that of the politician elected to parliament.

Teachers need soft car loans, tax waivers on imported cars, decent accommodation, rent allowances, car maintenance allowances, and others enjoyed by members of parliament.

Allow our teachers to also have a better life just as you do for article 71 officeholders or propose an article that takes care of these benefits for teachers.

There is nothing as painful as having the president of the country telling you in the face that your profession is not meant to make you a millionaire.

Is it not rather the systems we have put in place in the educations sector that is determining whether teachers can be millionaires? 

Make teaching attractive because teachers remain the most important workers who contribute to the development of the needed human capital to meet the present and future needs of Ghana. 

To believe that the teaching profession is not crafted to make teachers millionaires is a mindset and not the reality. This can be changed if the government puts teachers first on their agenda and treats them with respect. 

Teachers expect the leadership of this nation to place value on them and their work and to shelve any thoughts that will demoralize the hard-working teachers scattered all over the country and in the hinterlands sacrificing their lives away for mother Ghana. 

Leaders are demotivating our teachers instead of motivating and respecting them. This must seize and comments reduce the morale of workers must not be entertained.

Our current system that prevents teachers from becoming financially independent and millionaires must be reconsidered.

The negative popularity the president has received since making his teachers cannot be Millionaire’s comment must inform teacher unions, their executives, and members to erase every political affiliation they have built with any political actors. An independent labour union that seeks only the interest of its membership can give teachers a powerful voice in their struggle to actualize and enjoy better conditions of service. 

If the government is to make teaching attractive, teacher unions in Ghana need to merge and consolidate into one single force to champion the teacher issues. The divide and rule, the individual interest of the unions are not helping our teachers. 

Read: Teach and refrain from absenteeism, drunkenness – Ntim to teachers

Our leaders must become better communicators and guard against statements that have the tendency to inflict emotional pain on a section of society that is sacrificing their lives to build a literate society. 

The current salary structure of the education sector must be made more attractive. Teaching should be made a well-paying job to reward teachers and help them realize their millionaire ambitions. Today, school children do not even want to become teachers. They know the disrespect and the bad treatment teachers are going through. 

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What kind of Ghana will this nation be without teachers who are dedicated? Make teaching attractive, make teachers financially independent, and respect the teacher no matter who you are. If you cannot motivate, don’t worsen the case. The call is here and now and that is to make teaching attractive.

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