Wetin we call dis foto, One teacher dey teach for one rural school under tree for Kpandai district, GhanaArticle informationAuthor, Komla AdomRole, Senior Journalist, BBC News PidginReporting from Ghana
9 October 2023
Afta six years wia e dey teach for one rural school for Ghana, Theophilus Akrofi get nothing to show for im work.
Dis na despite say im dey ride bike for seven miles on poor road dey go di school every day to teach.
“Apart from di bad roads and poor salary, I dey take my own moni buy teaching and learning materials,” Theophilus tok BBC Pidgin as e remember how e now decide say im for leave di kontri.
Na so im start preparations to leave.
In September, tins don set wia Theophilus don arrive for di UK afta say e get certification to work wit im teachers license.
“For here, di system dey work well. You for just be time-conscious to meet dia demands. So far so good.”
Di young teacher already dey love di life for di UK.
Odas like 26-year old Caroline Ampah wey leave di kontri four months ago, dey try help dia colleagues to also jakpa.
Caro tok BBC Pidgin say “na life-changing opportunity I get wia I grab am wit two hands.”
For Ghana, di school she dey teach for East Gonja municipality of di Savannah region no get classroom, di kids dey learn under trees.
Di school no get accommodation for teachers.
“Even potable water and electricity no dey there, di two years I teach for there na hell.”
Theophilus and Caro no be di only basic school teachers wey frustrate about di system for Ghana, wia dem jakpa.
Dem just be part of more dan 10,000 odas wia leave di kontri since January.
Di teacher reduction rate don dey increase every year.
While some be as a result of retirement, career switch and death, some just dey migrate go oda kontris wia dem go find better life.
Data from di education management information system (EMIS) of di ministry of education and education service show say 293 basic school teachers don resign for 2021 alone.
EMIS data also show say di total attrition rate for di same year be 8,209.
Di same data dey give di number of basic school teachers for di kontri between 2016 and 2021.
2016/17 – 242,786 teachers 2017/18 – 243,312 teachers 2018/19 – 243,442 teachers 2019/20 – 283,430 teachers 2020/21 – 239,180 teachers *
Despite say di EMIS no publish data for di 2022/23 year, education think tanks don estimate say di teacher population be at least 300,000.
For many of di rural schools, teachers no dey, for areas wia some dey, dem no plenti.
Dis na because of di conditions for dis areas – poor infrastructure, no amenities, poor roads among odas.
Over 10,000 teachers jakpa go UK
Despite di poor teacher to student ratio, di teachers dey jakpa in huge numbers.
Registrar for di national teaching council (NTC) Dr Christian Addai-Poku tok say na dis year alone, “over 16,000 ghana teachers don apply to di department of education for UK for employment.”
Oga Addai-Poku explain say “by 13 June, over 10,000 of di applicants wit ghana teacher licenses don get certification to work for di UK without any further assessment by di UK goment.”
Im add say ghana teachers don become attractive na so di UK lift some of dia restrictions on application to become teacher for there for four kontris for Africa – Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Many more teachers, like di nurses and doctors don dey take steps to leave – travel companies now dey cash in.
Wetin we call dis foto, Some pupils dey study under shed for Ghana
One of dem be Felix Agyabeng im Achilinks travel consultancy.
Since January, di company don facilitate di travel of about fifty teachers to di UK.
Felix tok BBC Pidgin say na so dem dey use dia office for Kumasi and Accra take facilitate di process for di pipo wia dey contact dem.
“We get IELTS center wey we dey assist di teachers and oda professionals wia wan migrate go UK through school or oda means.”
Di applicants don dey use every means take gather moni for dia journey.
Caroline Ampah wey leave di kontri four months ago tok how im find di moni for im trip.
“Wetin me and my colleagues don do be say we borrow moni from friends and family. Some pipo I know, don sell dia properties wey odas take loans,” she explain.
For many of dis teachers and professionals, di goal be simple, say make dem leave di kontri for a better life.
Why di teachers and oda professionals dey jakpa
High living cost dey frustrate many people for Ghana.
Prices of everything don dey go up every day for market.
For di teachers, apart from di high living costs, dia conditions of service be poor.
Some of di basic school teachers for rural areas say dem dey share dia rooms wit bats and oda reptiles.
Some also dey struggle for places wey no get electricity, water and oda amenities.
For many villages, even basic call services no dey reach there, sabi say you go tok about internet for research.
Despite say dem dey go through all dis wahala, dia salary be poor, wia goment never give dem incentives dem agree say dem go give to teachers for rural areas.
Caroline Ampah tok say on top all di wahala, “pipo no dey respect di profession, we just dey sacrifice for nothing.”
Since she leave Ghana, she dey fit support her oda family members.
‘More teachers go jakpa’
Di national association of teachers say many more teachers go leave di kontri if goment no improve dia conditions of service.
Tok tok pesin for di association Tanko Musah explain say di teachers dey “sacrifice dia life for nothing.”
Some teachers dey cross rivers on boat without life jackets before dem go fit go dia schools go teach.
“Goment agree say dem go give rural teachers some incentives but dem never pay a dime since di agreement.”
Musah now add say sake of di poor conditions “di teachers don dey use di profession as stepping stone, whenever dem find better job, dem dey leave.”
Wetin we call dis foto, Another basic school teacher wey dey teach im pupils under tree for East Gonja municipality
Meawnhile for di Ghana teachers awards for Takoradi for international teachers day, di president of ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo don tok say goment go fix di issues.
Im tok say “we go resource teachers wia we go improve dia service conditions.”
Dis no be di first time di president go assure di teachers say e go fix dia problems.
Education minister Dr Yaw Adutwum for di same event also tok say teacher welfare dey of concern to im ministry.
Im add say, “if e don become important say we go pay transfer grants to teachers wey dem post to remote areas, we go do am.”
But di teacher associations say dis na political tok tok.
Dey say dey no dey trust say goment go implement di collective agreement wia im agree more dan ten years ago.
For dat agreement, goment tok say e go pay 20% deprived teacher allowance and oda incentives to teachers wey accept posting to rural places.
Di teacher associations say until goment start dey pay di moni, di teachers go continue to leave for greener pastures.
Even those wey still dey teacher training colleges alreadi dey think about how dem go jakpa.
For dem, di earlier dem find their way out of di kontri, di better for dem and dia families at a time like dis.
Source link : https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/c51j96qnr92o.amp
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Publish date : 2023-10-09 07:00:00
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