Govt to construct 50,000 housing units for teachers under Teacher Dabre Initiative – Haruna Iddrisu

The government has announced plans to construct 50,000 housing units for teachers across the country as part of efforts to improve accommodation conditions and enhance teacher retention, especially in rural areas.

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, said the initiative, known as the 'Teacher Dabre Initiative', is aimed at providing decent housing for teachers and addressing long-standing challenges associated with inadequate accommodation in some communities.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Monday, July 20, Mr. Iddrisu said the project would be implemented through a decentralised approach, with the District Assemblies Common Fund taking the lead in coordinating construction at the regional and district levels.

“We intend to construct 50,000 housing units for teachers all across the country. It is led by the District Assemblies Common Fund in order that we want to decentralise it at the regional and district level,” he said.

The Minister explained that the Ministry of Education would provide additional support to ensure the successful implementation of the programme, including leveraging resources from the Ghana Secondary School Pension (GSOP) as collateral support.

He also disclosed that government was in the final stages of introducing a 20 per cent allowance for teachers who voluntarily accept postings to rural communities.

“Apart from the 20% allowance for persons who are self-posting into rural areas, we are almost through,” Mr. Iddrisu stated.

The proposed housing scheme forms part of wider government interventions aimed at improving teacher welfare, reducing accommodation-related challenges and encouraging more educators to accept postings to underserved areas.