'We need to appreciate our teachers a lot more' – McDan on World Teacher's Day commemoration 

Ghanaian business mogul, Dr Daniel McKorley, popularly known as McDan, has called for greater appreciation and recognition of teachers for their contribution to education and national development.

His call came on Monday, October 5, as Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark World Teachers’ Day.

In a social media post, the Group Chairman of the McDan Group of Companies, noted that "we need to appreciate our teachers a lot more."

He said his own success was partly built on the foundation laid by teachers who invested their time in helping him understand issues from different perspectives.

According to him, the contribution of teachers extends beyond the classroom, as they help shape the attitudes, behaviour, values and outlook of young people.

McDan asserted that the country risks undermining its own future if the teaching profession is treated as an inferior one to an extent where talented people are discouraged from pursuing it.

He said every major profession depended on teachers, stressing that doctors, lawyers, engineers, pilots and presidents all passed through the hands of teachers.

“Teachers make all other professions possible. There is no profession without a teacher,” he said.

McDan also urged Ghanaians to recognise teachers as nation-builders whose influence goes beyond academic instruction.

“Real education is in our attitude, how we talk to people, how we behave, how we act in real life,” he said.

His comments come against the backdrop of an ongoing nationwide strike by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG).

The unions declared the strike on September 25, 2026, citing delays in placing promoted teachers on their appropriate salary levels, outstanding promotion arrears, the failure to conclude a new collective agreement and the non-implementation of a 20 per cent deprived-area allowance.

The unions have maintained that the strike will continue until concrete steps are taken to address their concerns.