The Central Regional chapter of the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) has called on government to urgently improve teachers’ base pay by 25 to 30 percent by 2027 to help curb the increasing rate of teacher migration from Ghana to other countries in search of better conditions of service.

According to the association, the continuous exodus of trained teachers poses a serious threat to the quality of education delivery, particularly in public basic and secondary schools where staff shortages are gradually becoming more evident.

Mr. Amos Amoako, the Central Regional Secretary for PRETAG narrated this growing concern in an interview with Sompa TV's Eric Annan during the 2026 May Day celebration held in Ajumako in the Ajumako-Enyan--Essiam District themed, "Pivotal to Growth, Jobs, and Livelihoods Beyond Macroeconomic Stability", where hundreds of workers from various sectors gathered to commemorate the annual event under calls for stronger labour protection and economic justice with displayed placards.

He stressed that poor remuneration and unfavorable working conditions remain the key factors driving many teachers to seek opportunities abroad and warned that the situation could worsen if immediate interventions are not implemented.

Mr. Amoako further indicated that teachers can no longer tolerate what he described as inadequate compensation under the current single digit base pay increment, arguing that salaries have failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living and economic pressures facing teachers.

Eric Kow Appiah Asante, the Regional Chairman for PRETAG in his address argued that the 7,000 teachers the Education Ministry intends to employ to fill in the gap of inadequate teaching staff in the country's eduction sector appears woefully insignificant.

He elaborated that considering the backlog of trained teachers who are yet to gain employment to the education sector, leaves the allocated number of teachers set to be employed by the Education Ministry noticeably inadequate. Thus, urged the government to reconsider its decision by increasing the number of teachers it plans to accommodate to fill in the teaching gap to at least 25,000, as inadequate teaching staff within the country's public schools continues to linger.

The Regional Secretary for PRETAG, Nicholas Akyene on the other hand, implored government to rollout necessary engagement in terms of workshop for newly employed teachers into the Ghana Education Service with the requisite knowledge build-up with regards to the recently introduced school curriculum, considering how tedious the work of a teacher poses to be without the needed reforms.

Sompaonline.com//Eric Annan