Teacher Calls for Uniform and Allowance for Ghanaian Teachers
A teacher in the Ashanti Region says a standardised professional outfit could make teachers easier to identify while helping reduce the time and cost associated with choosing work clothes.
Teacher Calls for Uniform and Allowance for Ghanaian Teachers, Citing Identification, Time and Cost Benefits
A teacher in the Ashanti Region has called for renewed consideration of a formal work uniform for teachers in Ghana, arguing that a standardised outfit could make teachers easier to identify while reducing the time and money spent deciding what to wear to work.
In an interview with Smart Teachers Avenue, Abigail Atuahene, a teacher at Old Offinso MA JHS in the Offinso Municipal of the Ashanti Region, shared her views on why she believes a professional teacher uniform deserves consideration.
Abigail explained that, unlike professions where members can easily be identified by their work attire, teachers are not always immediately recognisable outside the school environment. She believes a standardised teacher uniform could strengthen professional identity and make it easier for members of the public to identify teachers.
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Her proposal also goes beyond identification. During the interview, Abigail discussed how designated work wear could save teachers time when preparing for work, reduce the need to purchase numerous work outfits and potentially make professional dressing more convenient.
“You Can Easily Identify Other Professionals”
Atuahene argues that uniforms already help members of the public identify professionals in several occupations.
For example, when people encounter a nurse or a security officer in uniform, their profession can often be recognised without an introduction. She believes teachers could similarly benefit from having a distinctive professional outfit.
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She says the absence of a standard teacher uniform means that, outside the school environment, a person’s profession may not be immediately obvious unless the individual is already known as a teacher.
For Atuahene, this was one of the reasons she decided to make and wear her own teacher uniform.
Her Experience Began With a Personal Decision
Atuahene recalls that in 2011, when she had to travel to a station while presenting her appointment letter, she was already wearing a uniform she had personally sewn.
She says the experience showed her one of the practical advantages of having a recognisable professional outfit: people could immediately associate her appearance with the teaching profession.
Her uniform, however, was not an official Ghana Education Service uniform. Rather, it was a personal initiative.
That distinction is important because the Ghana Education Service has previously clarified that it has not prescribed a national uniform for teachers.
In April 2022, the Service dismissed reports circulating on social media that teachers had been directed to wear a particular brown-and-peach uniform. GES explained that it could not introduce such a policy independently without engaging the relevant teacher unions.
A Uniform Could Save Teachers Time and Money, She Says
Beyond identification, Atuahene believes a uniform could simplify teachers’ daily routines.
She explains that without a designated work outfit, teachers may spend time deciding which shirt goes with a particular pair of trousers or skirt, which shoes match an outfit and whether a particular combination is sufficiently professional for the workplace.
For teachers who regularly purchase different clothes for work, she believes the financial cost can also accumulate.
With two or three sets of a standardised uniform, teachers could rotate their outfits, wash them and reuse them throughout the working week.
In her view, this could reduce the pressure to continually purchase new work clothes while giving teachers a simpler and more predictable morning routine.
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A Research Perspective on Teachers’ Work Wear
The discussion is not entirely new in Ghana.
A 2021 Master of Philosophy thesis from the University of Education, Winneba examined teachers’ work wear in the Adukrom community in the Okere District of the Eastern Region.
The study involved 248 respondents, including 55 teachers, 178 students and 15 education-sector stakeholders. It found that teachers had different preferences regarding work attire. Notably, 80% of the teachers surveyed preferred a clothing allowance as a way of encouraging appropriate dressing, while students and stakeholders in the study showed preference for government-provided prescribed work attire.
The study was limited to the Adukrom community, so its findings should not be treated as a nationwide representation of Ghanaian teachers. However, it provides evidence that questions around teachers’ professional attire and financial support for work clothing have been studied within Ghana’s education context.
Should Teachers Receive a Uniform Allowance?
Atuahene believes the issue of a uniform cannot be separated from the question of cost.
She argues that if teachers are expected to wear an official uniform, there should also be a discussion about how the uniform would be financed.
Her proposal includes the possibility of a uniform allowance and an organised system through which teachers who want the prescribed fabric could purchase it.
She points to the uniform arrangements associated with professions such as the police, military and nursing as examples of occupations where official work attire is part of professional identity.
However, any proposal for a national teacher uniform would require careful consideration of cost, design, implementation, teacher preferences and engagement with teacher unions and other stakeholders.
That is consistent with the position previously stated by GES that a national teacher-uniform policy would require stakeholder engagement rather than being introduced informally.
A Growing Conversation About Professional Identity
Atuahene says interest in her own uniform has grown among colleagues who have seen her different styles and asked about the fabrics and designs.
She believes modern tailoring could also change perceptions of teacher uniforms. Rather than the traditional or rigid designs people may associate with older uniforms, she says contemporary styles could be designed to look professional while remaining comfortable and suitable for both male and female teachers.
Her appeal, therefore, is not that teachers should immediately begin wearing a particular uniform. Instead, she wants education authorities and teacher leaders to open a conversation about whether a professionally designed teacher uniform, supported by an appropriate allowance or affordable supply system, could work in Ghana.
For now, Ghana has no nationally prescribed teacher uniform under the GES policy position publicly documented in 2022. The proposal from Atuahene adds another voice to an issue that touches on professional identity, workplace practicality, affordability and public recognition of teachers.
Whether Ghana should adopt a national teacher uniform remains a matter for education authorities, teacher unions and other stakeholders to consider.
Do you have a different perspective on teacher uniforms, or would you like to share your own experience? Smart Teachers Avenue welcomes contributions and reactions from teachers, education professionals and other stakeholders.
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