Ghana wants teachers to produce Canadian and American classroom outcomes, but refuses to treat teachers like Canada and America do.

That is the uncomfortable truth many people are avoiding.

In 2019, Ghana introduced one of the biggest classroom reforms in its educational history, heavily influenced by modern teaching methods used in countries like Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

But there is one painful question we must ask:

Why did we borrow modern teaching systems but ignore how those countries motivate and reward teachers?

Let’s have an honest conversation.

In the last 39 years, Ghana has gone through major curriculum reforms at the pre-tertiary level. The biggest reform came in 1987 when the education system changed from:

6 years primary + 4 years middle school + 5 years Secondary + 2 years Sixth Form

to: 6 years primary + 3 years JSS + 3 years SSS.

This reform introduced the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and significantly changed how education was structured.

One thing many people forget is that the 1987 reform affected teachers positively in many ways.

Teachers with higher qualifications moved into better grades and salary scales. The reform encouraged teacher upgrading, in-service training, and specialisation. Around that period, teacher ranks became more formalised, and career progression improved with salary adjustments that made teaching more attractive than before.

Then came the 2007 reform, which introduced major structural changes. Kindergarten officially became part of basic education, JSS changed to JHS, SSS became SHS, ICT became more important, and the curriculum became more practical.

But compared to 1987, the biggest classroom shift came with the 2019/2020 Standards-Based Curriculum Reform.

This reform completely changed how teachers teach.

Before 2019:
1. Teaching focused mainly on memorisation

2. Lessons were teacher-centred.
3. Examinations became the main focus.
After 2019, teachers suddenly had to teach:

1. Critical thinking
2. Creativity
3. Problem-solving
4. Communication
5. Collaboration
6. Digital literacy
7. Values and character building
Teachers had to completely redesign:
• Lesson notes
• Assessment methods
• Teaching strategies
• Classroom management
• Learning outcomes
• Lesson delivery approaches
The truth is, the workload changed massively.

Let us be honest: the 2019 reform demanded more from teachers mentally, emotionally, and professionally than many previous reforms.

And here is the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to discuss.

The curriculum borrowed heavily from competency-based education systems used in countries like Canada, the UK, Singapore, and parts of the United States.

We borrowed:
✔ Learner-centred teaching
✔ Critical thinking approaches
✔ Competency-based assessment
✔ Standards and indicators
✔ Inquiry and project-based learning
✔ Digital literacy models
But somehow, we forgot one important thing:

How those countries pay, motivate, and value teachers.

This is where the real conversation begins.

In places like Canada and the United States, when governments introduce major curriculum reforms, teachers are often supported with:

• Better salaries
• Professional development funding
• Classroom resources
• Better welfare systems
• Teaching assistants
• Health benefits
• Incentives for continuous learning

But in Ghana?
Teachers were given:
• More workload
• More paperwork
• More lesson planning stress
• More assessments
• More expectations
Yet salaries remained almost the same.
Imagine asking teachers to teach like Canada while paying them wages that barely support survival.

A newly trained degree graduate teacher in Ghana earns around GHC3,500 before deductions.

Meanwhile, a newly qualified teacher in Ontario, Canada, may start with around CA$50,000–CA$60,000 annually, alongside health benefits, pension, paid leave, and structured career support.

In many parts of the United States, newly trained teachers begin with around US$46,000–US$54,000 annually, depending on the state.

So here is the difficult question:
How do we expect world-class teaching outcomes from teachers we are not treating in a world-class manner?

You cannot continue to borrow educational ideas from developed countries while ignoring the systems that make those ideas successful.

Education reform is not only about changing textbooks and teaching methods.

It is also about changing how teachers are respected, motivated, trained, and paid.

The painful truth is this:
A curriculum can look beautiful on paper and still fail if the teacher implementing it is tired, frustrated, financially stressed, and unsupported.

No education system rises above the quality and welfare of its teachers.

Maybe it is time Ghana stops reforming education alone and starts reforming how teachers are treated.

Because if we truly want Canadian and American classroom outcomes, then we must stop pretending teacher welfare is not part of the equation.

Please share this until it reaches the stakeholders who never truly considered teachers during the curriculum reform process. It is never too late to do what is right for teachers.

Decisions Decide Destiny
Special greetings from the Snow City
Gold is always hidden in dust.
I’m Marsego, Gold In Dust.
Bismark Dotse Dzisenu Educator | Certified Teacher in Canada Founder | Guard-M Foundation

🌐 https://guard-mfoundation.org/

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