Kwaku Asante, host of Fellow Ghanaians, a new segment on Joy Prime’s morning show, has described teacher and nursing trainee allowances as outdated, discriminatory and a waste of national resources.

Speaking on the show, Kwaku argued that the policy, which cost the state over GH¢900 million in 2024, no longer serves its original purpose and should be scrapped.

“Back then, it made some sense. It was strategic. Supply of teachers and nurses was low, demand was high. It was a targeted push,” he said.

He suggested that the money used for the allowances could instead be channelled into expanding training institutions, building better nursing laboratories, providing practical teaching tools, improving clinical placements, increasing tutor salaries and making the professions more attractive.

“It is not a small token. Why can we not use those resources to expand these institutions and admit even more students?” he questioned.

Asante further described the allowances as discriminatory, pointing out that they benefit only students in training colleges while excluding those pursuing similar courses at the university level.

“Two students on the same career path, one is paid, one is not simply because one went to a college and the other went to a university,” he said. “This allowance policy is outdated, discriminatory, unsustainable and frankly, a vote-buying relic. It is not driven by equity. It is not driven by evidence. It is driven by fear. Politicians fear losing votes.”

Teacher and nursing trainee allowances in Ghana were introduced decades ago as an incentive to attract more students into these professions at a time when the country faced acute shortages of nurses and teachers. 

Over the years, however, the policy has been criticised for being unsustainable and politically motivated, with successive governments either scrapping or restoring it based on political considerations rather than long-term educational and health sector needs.