My salary with a Ph.D. working in Ghana is equal to that of a McDonald’s worker in NYC.

UNESCO just came out with the same old findings to new research; that not enough (well paid) teachers pose serious challenges to education in Africa. While there is a demand for teachers, few students dream of becoming one in the future. Why? Teachers are the most underpaid and underperforming group. Why wouldn’t that affect how children are taught? Why is no one discussing this? I made $18,500 working as a professor at Ashesi, one of the world’s most promising universities. While some would assume that living in Ghana is less expensive than the “developed” world, let me give you an idea of my expenses. I pay $700-900/month on rent. Most renters have to pay 2 years in advance for property; so that is $700x24=$16,800. And unlike the US where property value is determined by where you live; in Ghana, your house is valued based on how it looks. For example, I live in a “good” house, but my next door neighbors are squatters. They live on a huge piece of land which they have turned into a farm and they sleep in a one room shack on it. Gasoline prices are relatively higher here than in the US. And most of my colleagues are US educated, so we are all wallowing in paying higher debt. I owe about $50k…yes, US, American dollars! Here is the dilemma of working in Ghana. Not just in academia but in general. No one wants to pay workers what they are worth. And of course, teachers of any kind are the least paid, although professors are highly regarded. When was the last time you paid rent with high regard? I digress. Furthermore, because educators are not highly paid, the highly educated ones join and form the brain drain out of Ghana. They can be found in the hallways of Sidwell to Harvard. And the ones left, the least educated, the least able to pull higher salaries are less motivated, less trained and less willing to give their best to our children in the classrooms. However, that is not considered a problem for that particular education institution. Why? Because institutions in Ghana consider their workers “privilege” to be working for them! Schools are operated like any business in Ghana. One has the demand, in the right part of town and some gadgets to set them apart. This “new thing” brings about demand and higher cost, but does not trickle down to the employees. You see in Ghana, employees are also considered part of the demand. People are looking for “good” places to work. Good places open up. With few good places and higher demand, the employer is able to pay workers at the lowest prices possible. Hence why I would accept $18k at Ashesi than something hire in an older bureaucratic institution where politicking keeps much work from getting done. If I had not worked in Ghana, I would have been one of the people thinking the education systems need to focus on students as opposed to teachers. I know better now. Poor education systems won’t be overturned if more is not done for teachers and the perception of working in Africa. If teachers are not better trained and better motivated, they will continue hurting our children and ruining their abilities to compete in the future. Hurt people; hurt people. We have already seen the results of their hurt, when will we begin to address it?