I will pay rural teachers allowance in next term of office – Mahama

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, if elected President in the upcoming 2024 general election says he will introduce a 20 per cent allowance for teachers in his next term of office.

The former President addressing a town hall meeting in the Western Region emphasised the critical need for such an allowance to attract educators to underserved rural communities grappling with a shortage of teaching staff.

“I am fully committed to overcoming the challenges hindering the successful implementation of this allowance,” Mr Mahama assured the crowd, acknowledging the complexities involved in categorising areas as rural or urban.

“In Takoradi here, there are some villages within the city. Where will you categorise that? All of these would have to be considered. We will sit with you to address this,” the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress said.

In related news, John Dramani has said he within the first 100 days of his next term of government will review the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy introduced by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2017 academic year.

Citing the positive impact of the Free second-cycle school program on the country’s education, the former President emphasized the need for a thorough review to enhance its benefits for both students and parents.

“When you implement a policy, you must take stock after a while to see whether you are achieving your target, When we win power in 2024, we will have a forum to review the education sector, and we will invite teachers, parents, educationists and students and then we will review the free SHS policy.

We will address issues that are not going well, like the feeding of students. The free SHS is a good policy but the government must put in place measures that will ensure that things are less expensive.

My nephew has been placed under free SHS but we are spending a lot of money to buy things on his prospectus because the government has mismanaged the economy so everything has gone up

“When we come, within 100 days, we will review the Free Senior High School, so that teachers, parents, and students will enjoy the benefits of the Free SHS policy,” the National Democratic Congress flagbearer for the 2024 election said.