There is a profound truth that society often acknowledges in words but fails to demonstrate in practice: Teaching is the mother of all professions.
Before there was a medical doctor, there was a teacher. Before there was an engineer, there was a teacher. Before there was a lawyer, a judge, an accountant, a scientist, a politician, or even a president, there was a teacher.
Every profession owes something to the classroom. Every accomplished professional has, at some point, benefited from the patience, knowledge, encouragement, and dedication of a teacher.
Yet, ironically, the very profession that lays the foundation for all others is often among the least appreciated, least celebrated, and inadequately rewarded in our society.
In Ghana, this contradiction has become particularly troubling.
The Declining Prestige of Teaching in Ghana
There was a time in Ghana when teachers commanded enormous respect in their communities.
The teacher was not merely an instructor. He or she was a mentor, disciplinarian, counselor, community leader, and moral guide.
Parents entrusted their children to teachers with confidence. Communities respected their judgment, and students looked up to them as examples worthy of emulation.
In many rural communities, the teacher was among the most respected personalities.
Today, however, the teaching profession is too frequently treated as a career of last resort.
Some young people enter teacher education not because they lack the intelligence or ability to pursue other professions, but because society has increasingly created the impression that teaching offers limited financial rewards and social recognition.
We must ask ourselves a serious question:
How can a nation aspire to produce world-class doctors, engineers, scientists, and leaders while continuing to undermine the very professionals responsible for preparing them?
This contradiction should trouble every Ghanaian who genuinely cares about the future of our country.
The Teacher's Reward Must No Longer Be in Heaven Alone
For generations, we have repeated the familiar saying that the teacher's reward is in heaven.
While the expression may have been intended to recognize the noble and sacrificial nature of teaching, it has sometimes become an unfortunate excuse for tolerating inadequate remuneration and poor working conditions.
Teachers are human beings. They have families to support, children to educate, rent to pay, medical expenses to meet, and responsibilities to fulfill.
They cannot purchase food with expressions of gratitude. They cannot pay school fees with ceremonial awards. Neither can they settle their financial obligations with promises of heavenly rewards.
The teacher deserves a reward here on earth, not merely the promise of one in heaven.
This does not diminish the spiritual significance of teaching. Rather, it recognizes that professional dignity must include fair compensation, timely payment, opportunities for advancement, and reasonable conditions of service.
A nation that truly values education must demonstrate that appreciation through concrete action.
The Recent Teachers' Strike: A Lesson Ghana Must Not Forget
Recent developments involving the Ghana Education Service provide a timely example of why this discussion is necessary.
On October 16, 2026, GhanaWeb reported that the Controller and Accountant-General's Department had paid outstanding promotion-related salary adjustments and arrears to 56,003 teachers of the Ghana Education Service.
According to the report, 49,725 teachers received their payments on October 15, while another 6,278 had been paid in September. The arrears covered salary adjustments dating from January 1, 2026.
This development is welcome news and deserves acknowledgment.
The government, the Ghana Education Service, the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, and the teacher unions deserve recognition for their respective roles in reaching an agreement and facilitating these payments.
However, there is a fundamental question that cannot be ignored:
Why should teachers have to embark on industrial action before receiving salaries, promotion arrears, and benefits legitimately due them?
The recent nationwide strike, which began on September 25, 2026, disrupted teaching and learning before the unions suspended the action on October 9 following negotiations.
The subsequent payments demonstrate that progress can be achieved through coordinated administrative action and dialogue.
But such action should not have to wait until classrooms are disrupted.
Promotion is supposed to represent recognition of professional growth, experience, dedication, and increased responsibility.
When a teacher is promoted but must wait for months to receive the corresponding salary adjustment, the practical value of that promotion is diminished.
It is particularly concerning that, according to the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, 630 submitted cases still require corrections, while documentation for another 23,367 promoted teachers has yet to be processed and submitted by the Ghana Education Service.
These outstanding cases deserve urgent attention.
The fact that thousands of teachers have now been paid should be celebrated, but it should not distract us from those who are still waiting.
Teachers should not have to strike to receive what they have already earned.
My sincere hope is that this experience will become a turning point in the management of teachers' salaries, promotions, allowances, and other employment benefits in Ghana.
Let this be the last time teachers are compelled to abandon their classrooms in order to draw attention to legitimate and long-standing financial grievances.
When Teachers Strike, the Entire Nation Suffers
A teachers' strike affects far more than the individuals directly involved.
When teachers withdraw their services, students lose valuable instructional time. Parents become anxious, school administrators face uncertainty, and academic schedules are disrupted.
For children in disadvantaged communities, the consequences may be particularly severe.
Some students have limited access to private tuition, computers, textbooks, or alternative educational support. For them, the classroom teacher remains the most important source of structured learning.
A prolonged interruption can therefore deepen existing educational inequalities.
This is why the government, educational authorities, and teacher unions must work together to establish reliable systems for addressing grievances before they develop into industrial disputes.
Teachers, too, have a professional obligation to safeguard the interests of their students. But that obligation should be matched by the employer's responsibility to honor agreed conditions of service.
Industrial harmony cannot be sustained by demanding sacrifice from one side while delaying obligations on the other.
Restoring Dignity Requires More Than Speeches
Every year, during Teachers' Day celebrations, public officials deliver impressive speeches praising teachers as nation-builders, mentors, and architects of the future.
Such recognition is appropriate and encouraging.
However, respect for teachers must extend beyond annual ceremonies.
If we genuinely believe that teachers are indispensable to national development, then our policies and priorities must reflect that belief.
First, promotion-related salary adjustments and arrears must be processed promptly and systematically. Once a teacher's promotion has been approved, the corresponding payroll adjustments should follow within a clearly defined and reasonable period.
Second, the government should establish transparent mechanisms through which teachers can monitor the progress of their promotion and salary adjustments without unnecessary administrative frustration.
Third, there must be sustained investment in teachers' professional development, particularly in modern instructional methods, digital education, and specialized training.
Fourth, teachers working in deprived and remote communities deserve meaningful incentives, decent accommodation where feasible, and the educational resources necessary to perform effectively.
Finally, the government and teacher unions should maintain regular, constructive dialogue rather than waiting until frustrations culminate in strikes.
The ongoing discussions concerning deprived-area allowances, digital instructional support, professional development allowances, and other outstanding conditions of service offer an opportunity to establish a more dependable relationship between teachers and their employer.
Promises must be accompanied by clear implementation schedules and consistent follow-through.
Parents and Society Also Have Responsibilities
Government alone cannot restore the dignity of teaching.
Parents, students, traditional authorities, religious leaders, the media, and society as a whole must reconsider how we speak about and treat teachers.
We cannot continue to ridicule teaching as an inferior profession while expecting our children to receive excellent education.
We cannot demand discipline, academic excellence, and moral guidance from teachers while denying them the respect and cooperation necessary to fulfill those responsibilities.
Children learn not only from what adults tell them but also from what adults demonstrate.
When parents openly disrespect teachers, children may begin to question the authority and value of those entrusted with their education.
Respect for teachers does not mean shielding them from legitimate criticism or accountability. Teachers must maintain high professional and ethical standards.
But accountability and respect are not mutually exclusive.
A teacher can be held responsible for professional conduct while still being treated with dignity.
A Personal Reflection as a Former Teacher
Having served in the teaching profession myself, I understand something of the dedication, patience, preparation, and personal sacrifice required of an educator.
Teaching is not simply the transmission of information from textbooks to students.
It involves shaping character, nurturing confidence, identifying hidden talents, correcting mistakes, encouraging struggling learners, and helping young people discover possibilities they may never have imagined for themselves.
A teacher may never become wealthy or famous, yet the influence of that teacher can extend across generations.
The child who once struggled with reading may become a distinguished physician.
The timid student encouraged to speak confidently may become a national leader.
The young person whose potential was recognized by a patient teacher may eventually transform an entire community.
Such achievements are not always recorded in the teacher's personal biography, but they remain among the most enduring contributions anyone can make to society.
A Call to Ghana's Leaders
To the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, and all institutions responsible for teachers' welfare, I offer this respectful appeal:
Let the recent payment of promotion arrears to more than 56,000 teachers mark the beginning of a new era of administrative responsibility.
Let the remaining eligible teachers receive their outstanding payments without unnecessary delays.
Let salary adjustments, promotions, and allowances be handled with predictability, transparency, and fairness.
Above all, let us develop a system in which teachers do not have to threaten or embark upon industrial action before legitimate obligations are fulfilled.
To the teacher unions, I encourage continued vigilance, constructive dialogue, and responsible advocacy for the welfare of your members and the educational future of our children.
And to my fellow Ghanaians, I say that we must restore the honor once associated with the teaching profession.
Conclusion: Honor the Hands That Shape the Nation
The future of Ghana does not begin in Parliament, the courts, hospitals, or corporate boardrooms.
It begins in the classroom.
The quality of tomorrow's leadership, healthcare, scientific innovation, public administration, and national development depends significantly on the quality of education we provide today.
And at the heart of that education stands the teacher.
If we want excellent education, we must value excellent teachers.
If we want dedicated teachers, we must provide fair remuneration, professional recognition, and supportive working conditions.
If we want a prosperous and enlightened Ghana, we must invest meaningfully in those who prepare its future citizens.
The recent payment of promotion arrears to 56,003 teachers is a welcome development. But the greater achievement will come when such payments are made routinely, promptly, and without the disruption of industrial action.
Let us never again wait for teachers to strike before giving them what is rightfully theirs.
For without the teacher, where would the doctor, the engineer, the lawyer, the scientist, the minister, or the president have begun?
Teaching is, indeed, the mother of all professions.
And the mother of all professions deserves nothing less than our respect, our gratitude, and our unwavering commitment to her dignity.
About the Author
George Adusei-Bonsu is a Ghanaian-born former educator, healthcare professional, and community leader residing in Columbus, Ohio, USA. His professional experience spans education, healthcare, and community service. He maintains a keen interest in education, professional development, and Ghana's national progress.
Partisan EC appointments could set dangerous precedent — NPP's Kamaldeen
Council of State failed Mahama over Emelia Agbenyo’s EC appointment – Prof. Asa...
Winneba: Afenyo-Markin commissions police apartments at Fetteh-Osakam
CDD‑Ghana: EC Deputy Chair Should Step Down Now
Family Announces October 23 Memorial Mass for Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings
Eduwatch Urges Nationwide Audit of Sexual Misconduct in Secondary Schools
Obuasi SHTS alleged sexual abuse: Kwasi Kwarteng criticises Education Minister o...
ECOWAS’ $250,000 flood relief donation arrives in Ghana – Ablakwa
State failure, not GoldBod, driving galamsey – Daryl Bosu
A Rocha Ghana raises alarm over human rights abuses in mining communities
