The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has criticised the continued payment of teacher trainee allowances, describing the policy as financially wasteful and unsustainable.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Mr Asare argued that the GH¢203 million spent on teacher trainee allowances in 2025 could instead be redirected toward employing about 400 teachers annually.
According to him, Ghana must reassess long-standing education policies that consume significant public funds without delivering the best outcomes for the education sector. He maintained that the current allowance system places a heavy financial burden on the state while limiting opportunities for broader investment in teacher recruitment and educational improvement.
Mr Asare also criticised the payment of nursing trainee allowances, which he estimated costs the government about GH¢500 million each year.
The teacher trainee allowance policy was reintroduced to support students in colleges of education and encourage more young people to pursue teaching careers.
Beyond the issue of allowances, the EduWatch Executive Director called for reforms to Ghana’s teacher recruitment system. He proposed replacing the current automatic recruitment arrangement with a demand-driven employment model based on vacancies within specific schools and districts.
Citing countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, Mr Asare explained that teachers in those systems apply directly for advertised vacancies tied to particular schools rather than being posted to unfamiliar regions after graduation.
He argued that adopting such a model in Ghana would improve efficiency, strengthen teacher placement, and help address staffing shortages more effectively across the country’s education sector.