Minister For Education Proposes Voluntary Fund For Teacher Accommodation Deficit

Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has expressed the government’s commitment to addressing the acute housing deficit facing teachers across the country. Speaking at the inauguration of the National Teaching Council and the Chartered Institute of Bankers Council on Tuesday, July 15, the Minister proposed a voluntary housing fund, where teachers could contribute up to GH¢200 monthly. These contributions, he explained, would be complemented by government support.

The fund, backed by pension schemes, would serve as collateral to facilitate the construction of decent accommodation for teachers, particularly those stationed in rural and underserved areas. This initiative, he noted, is aimed at tackling the long-standing shelter challenges teachers face both during and after their years of service. I met with your pension fund managers, and I pledged to them that we should work together, and the government is ready to partner with you in addressing the housing or shelter needs of teachers.

If, for instance, teachers will agree that at the end of each month you make a token contribution of 200 cedis, government probably can complement it with another 200 cedis, then we can build two or three bedrooms house, service it with that, and use the pension fund as a guaranteed collateral so that five, ten years, a teacher can walk home gallantly that he is retiring  with a home and not threatened by the security of post-retirement, he said.