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Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice-Presidential Candidate of Nana Akufo-Addo, says the NPP sees the need to restore allowances to trainee teachers and nurses as non-negotiable, explaining that Teacher Education, in particular, is critical to developing the quality human resource Ghana needs to succeed in the competitive global community.

“We will restore the teacher and nursing training allowances – for us, it is non-negotiable. Every nation must prioritize certain sectors at every point in time and invest the necessary resources to reap maximum benefits and, for the NPP, Ghana today needs to invest every necessary resource in education to give us the quality human resource we need to win the globally competitive economic battle,” he said.

Dr. Bawumia made these comments at the Dambai College of Education (DACE), on Monday, after listening to the complaints of students and lecturers of the College on conditions of Teacher Trainees and Colleges of Education across the country.

Speaking at the Forum, Mr. Lambert Ahiadzu Sefadzi, Head of the Social Sciences Department at the College, decried the current conditions of Colleges of Education, stating that the current government has no policy framework toward Teacher Education.

“There a lot of problems facing colleges of education but only one has gained prominence: the issue of the withdrawal of the Teacher Trainee Allowances. However, there are other problems, including inability of government to implement fully the Colleges of Education Bill, poor infrastructure among others.

The Colleges of Education Bill which was passed in 2012 making the colleges tertiary institutions is not fully implemented. When it suits government, they cite parts of the Bill, for example the withdrawal of Teacher Trainee Allowances.

It would interest you to know that since 2012, tutors in Colleges of Education have been doing the work of tertiary teachers but are paid like teachers of basic and secondary cycle schools, though they have all the qualification required by the National Council of Tertiary Education.

Migration of teachers of Colleges of Education to the NCTE payroll has also not been done. Government continues to drag its feet saying there is no money while teachers continue to do everything and produce Diploma certificated teachers, without any commensurate compensation.

They have reduced entry requirements to attract a lot of people to Colleges of Education. In the past, individuals were required to have at least C6 in all core subjects to gain entry to the Colleges of Education but because the cost of training has gone up and individuals are financing their education, they have reduced the entry requirement to D7 to attract a lot of students and this is what they are using to boast that enrolment has increased in Colleges of Education.”

Asaanah Peter Anagbila, a student of the College, stated that as a result of the scrapping of the allowances, though it has been three (3) weeks since the school reopened for classes, many of their colleagues have not been able to return because they have not been able to find money to pay for their fees and for their upkeep.

“I am happy to know that Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia have indicated their resolve to restore the Teacher Trainee Allowances. This is what gives us hope and we are grateful. With the restoration of Teacher Trainee Allowances, Teacher Education will be once again attractive in Ghana,” he added.