Female teachers struggle without accommodation, healthcare in rural areas - NAGRAT

• NAGRAT says female teachers posted to deprived areas face poor living conditions.

• Some lack accommodation, healthcare and access to safe drinking water.

• Teacher unions are demanding implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.

According to her, some female teachers posted to rural and hard-to-reach areas struggle to access basic necessities, including accommodation, healthcare and safe drinking water.

“It is the collective agreement that teachers taken to the deprived areas should be given some allowances. Some even to take motorbike and cross rivers in some rural areas. In some of the areas, there are no health facilities and some of these teachers in the hinterlands don’t even have accommodation or healthy drinking water.”

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Speaking an interview with Onue TV, Ama Boadiwaa said the difficult conditions could also affect the personal lives and educational aspirations of female teachers.

“Some of them end up marrying the best palm wine tapper or the chief of the town, so it affects their personal education. This was an incentive to motivate the teachers to come out and accept posting to rural areas so in town they can be transferred to the urban areas but it has become a lip service,” she lamented.

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Her comments come as the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) have declared a nationwide strike over unresolved concerns about teachers’ conditions of service and outstanding payments.

In a joint statement dated September 25, 2026, the unions said the strike followed prolonged delays and unfulfilled commitments by government and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).

The unions had given government until midday on September 24 to address their concerns before declaring the strike effective Friday, September 25.

Among their key demands is the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance, which is intended to encourage teachers to accept postings to underserved communities.

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The unions are also demanding the conclusion of negotiations for a new Collective Agreement, automatic placement of teachers who passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 onto the appropriate salary scales, and payment of related arrears from January 2026.