EduWatch: Teacher trainee allowances 'wasteful'; funds can employ 400 teachers annually

The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has criticised the continued payment of teacher trainee allowances, describing the policy as financially wasteful.

Speaking in an interview on TV3's Agenda on Tuesday, May 12, Mr. Asare argued that the funds allocated to trainee allowances could be redirected into employing 400 teachers every year.

Government spent an amount of GHC203 million to pay teacher trainee allowances in 2025.

According to him, Ghana must begin reassessing long-standing education policies that consume large amounts of public funds without producing the best outcomes for the education system.

"The allowance is wasteful so let’s put it aside. We won’t discuss it again. Everybody knows it is wasteful. That amount (GHC203 million) can hire about 400 teachers every year, that is the equivalent of paying close to 400 teachers salary a year," he stated.

Mr. Asare also criticised the payment of allowances to nursing trainees, which he estimated at about GH¢500 million annually.

The teacher trainee allowance policy was reintroduced to provide financial support for students in colleges of education and encourage more young people to pursue teaching careers.

Beyond the payment of allowances, the EduWatch Executive Director called for major reforms in Ghana’s teacher recruitment system.

He proposed replacing the current practice of automatic recruitment after graduation with a demand-driven employment model based on actual vacancies within particular schools and districts.

According to him, advanced countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada recruit teachers through district-level advertisements for specific vacancies rather than postings.

"If you go to advanced countries, if there’s a teacher vacancy, an advert is made from the district level. So the advert is made for a specific vacancy in a particular school. If you are a teacher and you qualify, and you have the relevant subject knowledge and expertise, you apply and your employment is considered.

"The employment is specific to a particular location; they are not posting you to North or Greater Accra for you to go and find a place to stay. It is specific to a particular school. That is how it is done, that is demand-driven teacher employment,” he explained.

Mr. Asare maintained that such a system would improve efficiency, ensure better teacher placement and help address staffing gaps more effectively across the country’s education sector.