FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY 2026: UFO CALLS FOR URGENT NATIONAL ACTION TO RESTORE DIGNITY, FAIRNESS AND SUPPORT FOR GHANA’S TEACHERS
“We cannot demand quality education while leaving the people who deliver it frustrated, overstretched and unsupported.”
Accra, Ghana | 5 October 2026
As the world marks World Teachers’ Day 2026, the Universal Friendship Organisation (UFO) joins the nation in celebrating Ghanaian teachers for their dedication, sacrifice and invaluable contribution to the education and development of our children. However, UFO believes that this year’s celebration must go beyond ceremonial messages of appreciation.
It must also be a moment for honest reflection, urgent dialogue and concrete action on the challenges confronting Ghana’s teaching profession. At a time when the country’s pre-tertiary teacher unions are engaged in industrial action over unresolved concerns relating to teachers’ conditions of service, promotion placement, arrears, the proposed 20% Deprived Area Allowance and the conclusion of a new Collective Agreement, UFO believes that the occasion presents an important opportunity for all stakeholders to listen and act.
TEACHER WELFARE IS AN EDUCATION ISSUE
The Universal Friendship Organisation recognises that teachers are not simply employees within the education system.
They are the people entrusted with developing Ghana’s human capital.
Yet, teachers continue to face professional and economic pressures that affect morale, retention and, ultimately, the quality of education delivered to children.
Recent reports from the teacher unions indicate that thousands of promoted teachers are still awaiting placement on the appropriate salary scales and payment of related arrears. The unions have also raised concerns over the continued delay in implementing the 20% allowance for teachers working in deprived areas.
For UFO, these are not merely labour-relations matters.
They are education matters.
When a teacher is promoted but does not receive the corresponding financial recognition, when a teacher posted to a difficult rural community lacks adequate incentives and support, or when teachers work in severely understaffed schools, the consequences extend beyond the individual teacher.
The child ultimately bears the cost.
GHANA ALSO HAS A TEACHER DEPLOYMENT PROBLEM
UFO is equally concerned about the unequal distribution of teachers across the country.
The 2026 Teachers for All: Ghana report, developed by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and partners, identifies persistent inequalities in teacher deployment, particularly between urban and underserved communities.
According to UNICEF, approximately 20% of districts in Ghana experience severe teacher shortages, while rural schools face some of the country’s most significant staffing challenges. The report recommends stronger data-driven teacher deployment and improved incentives to attract and retain teachers in difficult-to-staff communities.
The situation becomes even more striking at the district level.
In the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region, the Ghana Education Service has indicated that the district requires 632 additional teachers, while 34 basic schools reportedly have no more than three teachers each, including the headteacher. The district has also reported losing about 150 teachers annually, particularly after teachers complete service in deprived communities.
This raises a critical national question:
«How can Ghana guarantee quality education for every child when some schools have more teachers than they need while others struggle to put enough teachers in front of classrooms?»
UFO believes Ghana must confront this disparity with urgency.
UFO’S FIVE-POINT CALL TO ACTION
The Universal Friendship Organisation therefore calls on the Government of Ghana, Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, teacher unions, Parliament, development partners, corporate Ghana and civil society organisations to work together on the following:
- Resolve the current teacher dispute with urgency
Government and teacher unions must return to meaningful negotiations and work towards a sustainable resolution of the outstanding issues affecting teachers.
Dialogue must produce measurable outcomes, timelines and implementation, rather than repeated assurances.
- Expedite promotion placement and payment of legitimate arrears
Teachers who have successfully gone through the required promotion processes and earned advancement in their careers deserve timely placement on the appropriate salary scales.
Promotion should not become a prolonged financial burden on the very professionals being asked to improve the nation’s education system.
- Implement meaningful incentives for deprived-area teachers
Teachers serving in rural, remote and hard-to-reach communities deserve practical support.
The proposed 20% Deprived Area Allowance must be treated as part of a broader retention strategy, alongside accommodation, transportation, safety, professional development and other incentives that can make difficult postings sustainable.
- Reform teacher deployment using evidence and actual school needs
Ghana needs a transparent and data-driven teacher deployment system.
Teacher allocation should take into account:
- pupil-teacher ratios;
- class sizes;
- subject-specific needs;
- geographical challenges;
- teacher turnover;
- rural and deprived-area conditions; and
- the actual staffing needs of individual schools.
No Ghanaian child should receive an inferior education simply because of where he or she was born.
- Establish a national stakeholder dialogue on the future of teaching
UFO calls for a broader national conversation involving teachers, government, parents, students, traditional authorities, education experts, civil society, corporate Ghana and development partners.
The conversation must address not only salaries, but also teacher recruitment, retention, professional development, workload, accommodation, technology, school infrastructure and the dignity of the teaching profession.
“LET US STOP CELEBRATING TEACHERS ONLY WITH WORDS”
The Universal Friendship Organisation believes that Ghana must move beyond celebrating teachers with speeches and social media messages once a year.
If we truly appreciate teachers, our policies and actions must demonstrate it.
Teachers should not have to choose between serving a deprived community and meeting their own basic needs.
Teachers should not have to wait indefinitely for financial recognition after earning promotion.
And children should not have to learn in understaffed classrooms simply because their school is located in a rural or underserved community.
The chalk may be small, but the future written with it is enormous.
UFO TO GOVERNMENT AND ALL STAKEHOLDERS
We therefore call on Government and all relevant stakeholders to see the current situation not simply as an industrial-relations dispute, but as an opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen Ghana’s education workforce and protect the quality of learning for every Ghanaian child.
The Universal Friendship Organisation also encourages corporate Ghana, NGOs, philanthropists, development partners and individuals to complement government efforts by supporting schools and teachers with educational materials, technology, accommodation initiatives, professional development and other practical interventions.
OUR MESSAGE TO GHANA’S TEACHERS
To every teacher who continues to nurture a child, discover a talent, inspire a dream and shape a future:
Ayekoo.
We recognise your sacrifice.
We recognise your patience.
We recognise your contribution.
And we recognise that the future of Ghana is being shaped in classrooms across the country every single day.
On this World Teachers’ Day, the Universal Friendship Organisation does not merely celebrate teachers.
WE STAND WITH THEM.
We call for dignity in teaching, fairness in service, equity in deployment and urgent action where teachers and learners need support most.
Because when we invest in teachers, we invest in Ghana’s children.
And when we invest in Ghana’s children, we invest in the future of Ghana.
Happy World Teachers’ Day 2026.
Issued by:
Leadership
Universal Friendship Organisation (UFO)
