Ghana is introducing a new policy to improve salaries and working conditions for basic school teachers in rural areas—a reform long championed by School for Life and other civil society organizations.

The policy is seen as a key step toward addressing persistent teacher shortages and improving learning conditions.

The challenge: uneven teacher distribution

According to UNESCO, teacher quality is the most important school-based factor affecting learning outcomes. Yet in Ghana, shortages and uneven distribution of teachers are a key driver of poor learning outcomes—especially in rural areas, where students consistently perform below national averages.

Schools outside urban centers face significantly higher teacher shortages. Long travel distances, poor living conditions and lack of accommodation contribute to teacher absenteeism and irregular attendance, leading to lost instructional time and incomplete curriculum coverage.

For years, teachers like Mr Suhuyini Yahaya Ibn Bawa at Jantong Kpandu Islamic School, in the Savannah region, have endured long, exhausting commutes just to reach their classrooms.

According to School for Life, a civil society organization in hard-to-reach and underserved areas in Ghana, this reality—though common—remains one of Ghana’s most persistent education challenges.

“The lack of teacher accommodation and the resulting shortage of qualified teachers in rural areas make it difficult to complete the curriculum in many remote communities,” says Mohammed Mutaru Alhassan, Advocacy and Policy Influencing Officer at School for Life. “The absence of decent housing and basic amenities also discourages teachers from staying.”

From advocacy to policy change

For years, civil society organizations have worked to bring these challenges to national attention through research, coalition building and evidence-based advocacy.

Under Ghana’s Single Spine Salary Structure, teacher pay had traditionally been determined solely by qualification and rank, without consideration of working conditions. As a result, teachers in deprived rural schools earned the same as those in urban centers such as Accra or Kumasi, despite facing far greater challenges—a structural inequity long identified as a key factor in rural teacher shortages.

Through the Citizen-led Actions for Educational Accountability and Responsiveness (CLEAR) project, supported by Education Out Loud and led by School for Life, civil society actors have used evidence, community and media engagement, and policy dialogue to highlight these rural–urban disparities and propose solutions.

Momentum grew in 2023, as policymakers began to take notice. During the National Education Dialogue convened by the government in 2025, CLEAR presented evidence-based recommendations, including a rural hardship allowance and the provision of teacher housing.

The proposed 20% allowance and provision of teacher accommodation were highlighted not only as incentives for attracting and retaining qualified teachers in underserved areas, but also as a strategy to stabilize the teacher availability situation and improve continuity in teaching and learning.

The advocacy strategy emphasized equity gaps, the disproportionate burden on rural teachers, and the long-term economic returns and measurable gains in students’ literacy and numeracy skills of investing in teacher welfare.

A turning point

In 2025, the government announced a reform to improve teacher retention in rural and underserved areas, including a 20% allowance for teachers posted to deprived communities and a commitment to provide teacher accommodation in new schools.

This led to the introduction of the Teacher Dabre Initiative (dabrɛ, a Twi word meaning “a resting place”) in 2026, with the government setting aside GH₵500 million for the housing project. If effectively implemented, these measures could significantly improve teaching and learning conditions in rural Ghana.

From policy to practice

For education activists working on the CLEAR project, the announcement represents both progress and a responsibility.

“We’ve seen the power of sustained advocacy, and we are glad that government is addressing the issue of teachers in remote areas,” said Ayuba Abukari, Head of Programs and Partnerships at School for Life. “Now, we must ensure the policy translates from paper to practice.”

As the Ministries of Education and Finance, together with the Ghana Education Service, prepare to operationalize the policy nationwide, attention is turning to implementation.

For teachers who have been traveling long distances—and for students who have waited in empty classrooms—this reform could mean a future where education is not a privilege of geography but a right.

The CLEAR project

The Citizen-led Actions for Educational Accountability and Responsiveness (CLEAR) project is supported by Education Out Loud and implemented by School for Life, in partnership with Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL-GHANA) and the Ghana Developing Communities Association.

CLEAR works to strengthen transparency and accountability in Ghana’s education system, particularly in underserved areas. It mobilizes and trains citizen groups to generate evidence on education delivery and engage with authorities through social accountability processes.

The project also supports policy dialogue and advocacy, linking community-level evidence to national decision making.