Teachers to receive GH¢1,200 yearly professional allowance

Professional Teachers in Ghana are set to receive a Professional Teacher Allowance (PTA) of GH¢1,200 per year, the Education Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has announced.

Non-Professional teachers are also set to receive GH¢600 per year in a move to deepen the commitment and spur professional growth of teachers.

According to Dr Opoku Prempeh, the move would enable teachers to invest in improving and upgrading their skills and keeping abreast of modern trends to assist in improving learning outcomes.

Dr Prempeh stated this when he presented a statement on education and teacher reforms in Parliament on Tuesday.

The Education Minister also slammed the erstwhile Mahama administration for failing to purchase a single textbook for students throughout the eight period.

According to him, some policies introduced by the previous administration were inimical to progress of the sector such as cancellation of allowances for both students and teachers.

Speaking to the media after the proceedings Dr. Opoku Prempeh argued the Mahama administration failed to invest adequately in the education sector unlike this government which is investing heavily in free SHS.

The Manhyia South MP added that the success of the free SHS program cannot be based only on performance in WASSCE but the mere fact that children who would’ve been out of school are now in school.

According to him in the 8 years administration of the party no single text book was procured for students.

Ranking member for Education Committee Peter Nortsu, however, refuted assertions of the minister. According to him, several text were procured but only arrived after the Mahama administration had left power.