The Silent Suffering of Ghana’s Teachers: When Educational Reforms Become a Curse Instead of a Blessing

The Ghana Education Service has once again introduced a new educational reform that places even greater responsibility on the shoulders of teachers, the very people who have long been overworked, undervalued, and poorly motivated. The irony is that the success of any educational reform depends heavily on the teacher, yet the teacher continues to be the most neglected stakeholder in the system.

At the heart of these reforms is the Intervention Programme, a well-intentioned but poorly thought-out initiative that has become a burden rather than a blessing. This programme, which seeks to assist students who are weak in English and Mathematics, has turned into a nightmare for teachers across the country’s senior high schools.

Under the new curriculum, every teacher is already expected to complete several demanding activities within a tight schedule before students can even register for their final examinations. Yet, on top of these expectations, teachers must now provide additional lessons to struggling students under the so-called intervention programme, with no extra pay, no allowance, and certainly no recognition. Even the annual best teacher award is an insult to the hard-working teacher.

How much more can the poor Ghanaian teacher bear? After teaching regular classes, marking endless assignments, preparing lesson notes, and grading exam scripts, the same teacher is compelled to run extra sessions for students who should never have been admitted in the first place. The refusal of policymakers to set a reasonable cut-off point for BECE graduates has resulted in an influx of students who are academically unprepared for senior high school. Instead of addressing this systemic problem, the burden is shifted to the already exhausted teacher.

And yet, the teacher’s salary remains nothing to write home about. Month after month, they work beyond human strength, sacrificing their time, health, and family life, all in the name of nurturing the future leaders of this country. The age-old saying that “a teacher’s reward is in heaven” no longer makes sense in today’s reality. Teachers cannot continue to suffer on earth only to hope for a heavenly reward they may never live to see.

To make matters worse, the intervention programme has introduced another form of suffering — stigmatisation. Students selected for these sessions are often ridiculed by their peers as being “dull,” making many of them shy away from participating. Instead of motivating improvement, the programme has created a culture of embarrassment, leaving these students emotionally wounded and academically demoralised.

The government must urgently rethink this entire approach. Not every student is cut out for formal education and that is perfectly okay. Those who do not perform well in the BECE should either be made to resit or be guided into apprenticeship and technical training programmes. These students can still become valuable contributors to the nation through skilled trades, technology, and innovation. Ghana needs both thinkers and doers to build a balanced economy.

Above all, the teachers’ unions must rise from their slumber. The unions should not just collect dues and remain silent while their members are drowning under unbearable workloads. It is time to fight for better working conditions, fair remuneration, and respect for the teaching profession. A demoralised teacher cannot inspire excellence in the classroom.

The truth is bitter but undeniable. Teachers in Ghana are dying slowly, not only from physical exhaustion but from emotional neglect. Young teachers are collapsing under stress, older ones are burning out, and the next generation is watching with fear.

If we truly care about the future of education in this country, then we must first care for the teacher, because without a motivated teacher, no reform, no policy, and no intervention will ever succeed.

Teachers are watching!

FAB's Gist.