Current: Teachers salary in Ghana

Current: Teachers salary in Ghana

Teachers salary in Ghana remained a mystery until now. The general public and teachers have always complained about teachers salary in Ghana.

Teachers are the largest workforce in the country. Interestingly, however, the salary of teachers is not widely known. The general public, therefore, continues to speculate about the value of salaries that teachers receive.

Ironically, the salaries of other public sector workers are widely circulated among the Ghanaian public. An example is the salary of nurses, doctors, bankers, politicians, and political appointees to public institutions.

Teachers take advantage of the secrecy surrounding their teachers salary in Ghana. They are easy to claim their salaries are meager in the presence of their closest families who should even know the salaries they take.

The general public also demeans teachers with the wrong perception about teachers salary in Ghana.

Though teachers do not take the best salary they deserve, they are also not the worst paid.

See also: New Policy on annual salary increment in Ghana

Ranks in Ghana Education Service

The staff of the Ghana Education Service has different job descriptions. The employer pays each employee according to their specific job portfolio. The job portfolio is called ‘rank’ in the Ghana Education Service.

The ranks from the highest to lowest are:
1. Pupil Teacher
2. Superintendent II
3. Superintendent I
4. Senior Superintendent II
5. Senior Superintendent I
6. Principal Superintendent
7. Assistant Director II
8. Assistant Director I
9. Deputy Director
10. Director II
11. Director I
12. Deputy Director General
13. Director General

Entry points into the Ghana Education Service

There are four main entry points into the Ghana Education Service (GES). The entry points are;

a. Pupil teacher

GES can appoint secondary school leavers to teach in certain locations. The pupil teachers are therefore secondary school leavers who are engaged to teach. The service sees the need to engage the pupil teachers due to several reasons including persistent unavailability of teachers in those areas.

b. Diploma classroom teacher

The Ghana Education Service also appoints diploma holders directly to teach. The employer places the diploma holders on the superintendent II rank.

c. Degree teachers

Additionally, the employer engages degree holders directly to teach. The service has even declared a degree as the minimum entry point for all teachers.

The employer places degree holders on the rank of principal superintendent.

The employer is accordingly in a transition of fading diploma teachers.

In addition, both the pupil-teacher and the diploma teacher can upgrade academically to become degree teachers and be placed on the appropriate principal superintendent rank accordingly.

d. Director general

The employer usually appoints the director general of the Ghana Education Service from outside the existing staff of the service. The Director general position is therefore an entry point into the Ghana Education Service.
The director general is the head of the service. He or she is the direct link between the employer and all other staff of the service.
The employer, the government, therefore appoints someone that can work independently as well as pursue the government’s objective for the service.
Interestingly, the government hardly appoints anyone from the set-up of the Ghana Education Service.

Salary for the ranks in the Ghana Education Service

The staff of the Ghana Education Service is on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).

The SSSS has two main components. The components are
a. Levels
b. Points

a. Levels

A group of teachers with the same job portfolios are put on the same salary level. The level of staff in Ghana Education Service ranges from level one (1) to level twenty-five (25).

The employer places staff performing the least work job description on level one. The employer pays the director general, who is the highest ranked staff of the service on level twenty-five

b. Points

The points on the salary levels for staff remunerate staff according to seniority. That is the staff who entered a particular rank first stays ahead of the later staff by such many years. The point indicates the number of years staff has been on the rank.

For example, staff on a salary scale level 16.4 means the staff has been on level 16 for four (4) years.

The points are designed such that staff would qualify for promotion to the next level at the time the staff exhaust all the available points on a particular level

Teachers salary in Ghana at entry into the service

a. Diploma recruits:

Newly posted diploma teachers are placed on the salary scale of PSH14.1. The salary for diploma recruits is;
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 2,732.01
SSNIT: 130.66
Taxable income: 2,601.35
Income Tax: 361.39
Net Salary: 2,239.96

b. Entry at degree level

The salary scale for newly recruited degree holders to teach is PSH16.1.
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 3,459.20
SSNIT: 165.44
Taxable income: 3,293.76
Income Tax: 482.56
Net Salary: 2,811.20

c. Director General

The salary scale for the Director General of the Ghana Education Service is PSH25.1
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 10,523.46
SSNIT: 503.30
Taxable income: 10,020.17
Income Tax: 2,138.04
Net Salary: 7,882.13

Issues with salaries of other/ existing teachers in Ghana.

There few interesting facts about teachers salary in Ghana.
a. The role a teacher performs is not an accurate determinant of his or her salary scale. This is because it can take multiple years for a teacher to receive a corresponding salary to the role they perform.

For example, a teacher who has been appointed a head of a department or assistant headmaster in SHS or even a headmaster may not receive a corresponding salary for years. The teacher mostly has to pay middlemen to start an appropriate salary.

The same scenario applies to teachers who have been appointed to perform other roles that deserve a salary increase.

b. The qualification a teacher hold does not guarantee a pay raise. The highest recognized qualification is the first degree. Any higher degree obtained by the teacher does not attract any salary increase.

Even diploma teachers who upgrade to become degree holders have to wait for years to receive corresponding salaries.

Exact salaries of teachers

You can only know the exact salaries below that a teacher receives if you know his or her salary scale.

The salary scale of teachers ranges from level 14 to level 25.

Below are a few highlights of teachers salary in Ghana.

a. The minimum salary scale of heads of senior high schools is at deputy director rank. That is level 20.1 (PSH20.1). However, due to the extra responsibility of as a head of senior high school, the scale will be moved to PSL21.1. That is the lower end of the next rank.

b. Heads of basic schools will be placed on level 17.1. That is the higher end of the next level (PSH17.1). The head of basic school would have been on PSH16

c. The employer places diploma recruits on level 14.1. They stay on the level until the employer promote them to level 15.1. And later they get promoted to levels higher-ups in that order.

However, the number of years they spend on a particular rank or level will determine the points on the levels. That is level 14.3 or level 14.6 to indicate three years and six years on the level respectively.

d. The employer places degree recruits on level 16.1. They also get promoted after some number of years on level 16.

e. The employer moves teachers with an extra responsibility to the next salary scale. The employer moves entry-level degree holders (PSH16.1) with extra responsibility to the ‘high’ end of the next scale (PSH17.1).

However, the employer move staff who are on level 18 and above to the ‘low’ end of the next salary scale.

f. The service does not employ people with certificates below diplomas any longer.

g. The headmasters and headmistresses must be on a minimum of deputy director rank.

Teachers salary in Ghana

1. Senior Superintendent II (PSH14.1):

Entry level for diploma holders
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 2,732.01
SSNIT: 130.66
Taxable income: 2,601.35
Income Tax: 361.39
Net Salary: 2,239.96

2. Senior Superintendent I (PSH15.1):

By promotion to diploma holder
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 3,074.18
SSNIT: 147.03
Taxable income: 2927.15
Income Tax: 418.40
Net Salary: 2,508.75

3. Principal Superintendent (PSH16.1):

Entry level for degree holders and by promotion for diploma holders
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 3,459.20
SSNIT: 165.44
Taxable income: 3,293.76
Income Tax: 482.56
Net Salary: 2811.20

4. Assistant Director II (PSH18.1):

By promotion for both diploma and degree holders
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 4,163.96
SSNIT: 199.15
Taxable income: 3,964.81
Income Tax: 624.20
Net Salary: 3,340.61

5. Assistant Director I (PSH19.1):

By promotion for both diploma and degree holders
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 4,530.13
SSNIT: 216.66
Taxable income: 4,313.48
Income Tax: 711.37
Net Salary: 3,602.11

6. Deputy Director (PSH20.1):

By promotion for both diploma and degree holders
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 5,361.92
SSNIT: 256.44
Taxable income: 5105.48
Income Tax: 909.37
Net Salary: 4,196.11

7. Director II (PSH21.1):

By promotion for degree holders only
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 6,240.35
SSNIT: 298.45
Taxable income: 5,941.90
Income Tax: 1,118.48
Net Salary: 4,823.43

8. Director I (PSH22.1):

By promotion for degree holders only
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 7,021.92
SSNIT: 335.83
Taxable income: 6,686.09
Income Tax: 1,304.52
Net Salary: 5,381.57

9. Deputy Director General (PSH23.1):

By promotion for degree holders only
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 8,035.70
SSNIT: 384.32
Taxable income: 7,651.38
Income Tax: 1,545.84
Net Salary: 6,105.53

13. Director General (PSH25.1):

By appointment for degree holders only
Gross salary (basic and 15% retention premium): 10,523.46
SSNIT: 503.30
Taxable income: 10,020.17
Income Tax: 2,138.04
Net Salary: 7,882.13

Teachers salary in Ghana after promotion

a. Promotion of lower ranked staff

Teachers below the rank of Principal superintendent should refer to the next salary level after their current salary scale after the promotion

b. Promotion from principal superintendent to assistant director II

Teachers currently on the rank of principal superintendent should refer to the salary attached to level 18 (PSH18.1) after promotion.

However, the employer places teachers who are on the principal superintendent rank with extra responsibility on PSL19.1. Therefore, teachers who are on the principal superintendent rank with extra responsibility should calculate and add 1.7% of the PSH18.1 scale to the PSH18.1 salary.

This is because the salary difference between PSL19.1 and PSH18.1 is only 1.7%.

c. Promotion from assistant director II to assistant director I

Teachers who are promoted from assistant director II to assistant director I rank will be placed on either PSH19.1 or PSL20.1
The employer places teachers on assistant director II rank with extra responsibility on the PSL20.1 after the promotion. Those without any extra responsibility will be placed on PSH19.1

Teachers who will be placed on the PSH19.1 should refer to the salary levels above.

However, teachers who will be placed on the PSL20.1 should calculate and add 1.7% of the PSH19.1 to the PSH19.1 scale.

d. Promotion from assistant director I to deputy director

Teachers who are promoted from an assistant director I to deputy director rank will be placed on either PSH20.1 or PSL21.1

Teachers on the assistant director I rank with extra responsibility will be placed on the PSL21.1 after the promotion. Those without any extra responsibility will be placed on PSH20.1
Teachers who will be placed on the PSH20.1 should refer to the salary levels above.

However, teachers who will be placed on the PSL21.1 should calculate and add 1.7% of the PSH20.1 to the PSH20.1 scale.