The woeful plight of teachers in deprived areas

Dear Ministry Of Education,

I'm Boutrous Kojo Saah Arthur,24years of age, and a newly posted teacher at Pomasi M/A Basic School in the Central Region of Ghana.I would wish to thank you for your contributions to Education, especially the free SHS implementation which is geared towards seeing every Ghanaian child go through High School Education.That really defines your government's commitment to making Education grow from strength to strength as started years back.

I am writing to you to draw your attention to the need to put teachers into consideration when building schools and posting teachers to deprived areas.Teachers need to be housed, I mean teachers need Bungalows to stay in since there are no houses in deprived areas to even rent when they have their own money.I want you to know that, so far as a woman cannot alone impregnate herself and give birth, so as a classroom for students alone cannot provide good results in our education system.Why always the teacher complaining?Are we the 'useless' profession in our geographic region?

Teachers in deprived areas are shouldered too heavy a load that some need to cover 2 to 3 km by foot before getting to work, others board vehicles of at least Ghc 6 a day and the rest have to live in mud houses without toilet, bathroom, kitchen just in the name of teaching.Same persons have no electricity, no network, no potable water where they find themselves.

So what is our crime? You are able to provide classroom for children without Bungalows for the instructors (teachers) from far distance at places where there are no houses for rent.

I don't understand why we can provide affordable housing for the middle class in the cities without providing just 12bed room Bungalow for teachers in deprived areas just to motivate them to stay and teach the poor who constantly vote for your parties every election year.Can MOE boast of number of bungalows to schools built in deprived areas since 2000?

Does the teacher also not deserve a nice house to stay in?, or we can only stay in the nice house when we go on pension with this our "fia" money?

No wonder in this part of the world,people keep to telling teachers their reward in heaven.

For a developing country that wants to develop education system, it's time to pay greater attention to our teachers.There are many who constantly leave the village (causing constant change of teachers which affects academics work )every academic year because of poor living conditions in the deprived areas.

Sadly, our ministry seems not too worried by this attrition, but it is something to look at.

Teaching remains the only profession that all other professions emanate and it should not continually become a thankless job in this part of the world.

Best regards,

Boutrous Kojo Saah Arthur 0544939241