GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS: DOES EDUCATION REALLY COME FIRST?

What does it really mean when a government says it cares about education?

Does it mean building more schools?

Does it mean providing textbooks, expanding access and improving infrastructure?

Or does it also mean making sure the teachers standing in those classrooms feel valued, supported and fairly treated?

This is the question raised by Atta Smart, Educational Psychologist and Financial Educator at Smart Teachers Avenue.

And given what is currently happening between Ghana’s government and the country’s pre-tertiary teacher unions, it is difficult to think of a more timely question.

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GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS: CAN EDUCATION REALLY THRIVE WITHOUT TEACHERS?

There is an important distinction here.

It would be unfair to say that government is doing nothing for education.

Ghana’s 2026 Budget allocated GH¢33.3 billion to the Ministry of Education, alongside GH¢9.9 billion for GETFund. The budget also includes funding for textbooks, new basic schools, teacher accommodation, capitation and other education interventions.

The government has also pointed to teacher-related initiatives.

The Vice President recently said the education sector faces challenges including career progression, recruitment and infrastructure deficits, while highlighting the Teacher Housing Initiative and 404 teacher bungalows in underserved communities.

The Education Minister has also announced plans to recruit an additional 10,000 teachers after the 2027 Budget and said government intends to improve teacher deployment to underserved communities.

So, yes, there are policies, programmes and financial commitments directed at education.

But that brings us back to Atta Smart’s question.

Where do the teachers fit into all of this?

GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TEACHERS FEEL IGNORED?

The current teacher strike provides a difficult test.

GNAT, NAGRAT and PRETAG have been demanding action on three major areas: outstanding promotion-related arrears, the negotiation of a new Collective Agreement and the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.

The government has responded with commitments.

Education Minister Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has pledged that promoted teachers will be placed on their new grades and that outstanding promotion arrears will be addressed by October 30, 2026. He has also said government is working on the validation of affected teacher records.

But the unions have not considered those assurances sufficient to end the strike.

In Ashanti Region, for example, the three unions said they wanted verifiable evidence of payment, rather than further assurances.

That difference is important.

Government may say, “We are working on it.”

Teachers may respond, “Show us that it has been done.”

That is where trust becomes central.

READ RELATED RESOURCES HERE:  TEACHER UNIONS STRIKE CONTINUES AFTER FWSC TALKS END WITHOUT AGREEMENT

GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS IS ALSO ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PROMISES

A promise can be important.

But implementation is what eventually gives a promise meaning.

This is particularly relevant in the current dispute because the government has already made specific commitments.

Hon. Haruna Iddrisu said he would have “no honour” if the outstanding promotion arrears were not paid by October 30.

He subsequently visited the data-validation centre where affected teachers’ records were being processed, with government targeting validation of tens of thousands of records and a first tranche of payments expected to follow the exercise.

Those are concrete steps.

But teachers are still asking a practical question:

When will the money reflect?

That is why government care for teachers cannot be measured only by speeches, budgets or announcements.

Teachers will ultimately judge it by what changes in their working and financial reality.

GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS: DOES CARING ABOUT LEARNERS ALSO MEAN CARING ABOUT THEIR TEACHERS?

This may be the most uncomfortable part of the question.

Governments understandably focus on learners because education policy is ultimately about giving children and young people opportunities.

But who delivers that education?

Teachers.

A government can build a classroom, provide textbooks and introduce a new curriculum.

But someone still has to stand before the learners every day.

Someone has to prepare lessons, teach, mark exercises, assess learners, complete records, attend meetings, communicate with parents and manage the realities of the classroom.

That means teacher welfare is not completely separate from education quality.

It is part of it.

Recent research and policy discussions in Ghana continue to highlight teacher deployment, professional development and working conditions as important issues for improving learning outcomes. UNICEF’s 2026 Teachers for All report, for instance, identified persistent inequalities in teacher deployment and called for more equitable, data-driven allocation of teachers.

So perhaps the question should not be:

“Teachers or learners?”

Perhaps it should be:

“How do we create a system where both teachers and learners can thrive?”

GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS DOES NOT MEAN GOVERNMENT MUST AGREE TO EVERY DEMAND

There is another side that should not be ignored.

Government has a responsibility to manage public finances and negotiate within the laws, policies and financial limits of the state.

The FWSC’s Dr George Smith-Graham has said government may not be able to meet all the demands presented by the teacher unions.

That does not automatically mean government does not care about teachers.

Likewise, teachers going on strike does not automatically mean teachers do not care about learners.

Both sides can have legitimate responsibilities and still disagree sharply over how those responsibilities should be fulfilled.

The real question is whether the disagreement can be resolved through credible negotiation, clear timelines and actual implementation.

READ RELATED RESOURCES HERE:  TEACHER PROMOTION ARREARS: WHY HARUNA IDDRISU WENT TO CHECK THE WORK HIMSELF

WHEN TEACHERS FEEL UNHEARD, WHAT DOES IT DO TO EDUCATION?

This is where the current dispute becomes bigger than salaries.

The teacher unions are not only talking about money.

Their demands also include conditions of service and professional concerns.

And in its recent regional statement, the Ashanti teacher unions raised additional concerns about workload, administrative demands, professional dignity and teacher welfare. They called for better planning of meetings and professional development as well as accessible counselling and referral services for teachers.

These issues matter because teaching is not simply a job where someone arrives, teaches and goes home.

It is a profession that carries significant responsibility for the development of children.

If the people carrying that responsibility consistently feel unheard, undervalued or unsupported, the education system eventually has to confront the consequences.

READ RELATED RESOURCES HERE:  TEACHER UNIONS STRIKE CONTINUES AFTER GOVERNMENT TALKS END WITHOUT AGREEMENT

GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS: WHAT SHOULD IT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?

Perhaps the answer is not complicated.

It could mean paying teachers what they are legitimately owed within the agreed timelines.

It could mean resolving promotion issues without unnecessary delays.

It could mean negotiating conditions of service seriously.

It could mean improving accommodation and working conditions, particularly in underserved communities.

It could mean listening to teachers before problems become industrial disputes.

And perhaps most importantly, it could mean building enough trust that when government makes a commitment, teachers believe that commitment will be implemented.

At the same time, teachers also have responsibilities.

Professional concerns should be pursued through lawful and organised channels. Teachers have legitimate reasons to demand better conditions, but they also have a professional responsibility to consider the effects of prolonged disruption on learners.

The objective should therefore not be to determine who can shout the loudest.

The objective should be to get the education system working.

GOVERNMENT CARE FOR TEACHERS: SO, CAN GOVERNMENT CARE ABOUT EDUCATION AND STILL FAIL TEACHERS?

This brings us back to Atta Smart’s original question.

Yes, it is possible for a government to invest heavily in education while some teachers still feel neglected.

Education is a huge system.

Money can be allocated to infrastructure, textbooks, feeding programmes, technology and access while unresolved employment issues continue to affect teachers.

But that does not make the teacher’s concerns unimportant.

And it does not mean that every government investment automatically translates into good working conditions for every teacher.

Perhaps the more useful question is therefore not simply whether government cares.

Perhaps we should ask:

How do we measure that care?

Is it in the budget?

Is it in the policies?

Is it in the speed with which legitimate teacher concerns are resolved?

Is it in whether commitments become actual payments?

Is it in whether teachers can work with dignity?

Or is it in whether learners ultimately receive the quality education they deserve?

The current teacher strike has placed all these questions on the table.

And until government and the teacher unions find a sustainable way forward, Ghana’s education system will continue to face the same difficult question:

Can we genuinely say we are putting education first if the people responsible for delivering it do not feel that they are being treated as a priority?

That is a conversation worth having.

What do you think?

This article is based on a professional-development discussion by Atta Smart, Educational Psychologist and Financial Educator at Smart Teachers Avenue, and is expanded with current public information on Ghana’s education policies and the ongoing teacher-government negotiations. Statements concerning government commitments and union positions are attributed to the relevant sources.

Share your experience and ideas in the comments. Your strategy could help another teacher take the first step.

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