President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that the Government has set aside GH₵500 million in the 2026 budget for the commencement of the Teachers’ Housing Scheme (Teacher Dabre Project).
He noted that going forward, the Project, which seeks to promote the welfare of teachers, would be scaled up to One Billion Cedis in the 2027 Budget.
The President made the announcement in his remarks at the opening of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) 54th National Delegate Congress and Seventh Quadrennial Conference in Accra, on the theme “Education and Development: The Ghana Education Service (GES) at 50: Reflecting, Reviewing, Revising, and Growing the Profession and the Unions”.
The project is been implemented by the Government in collaboration with the GNAT and the Republic Bank.
The President said this year, the Finance Minister would pay the GH₵500 million into a housing fund, a revolving fund; stating that GNAT and Republic Bank would put some money in, and teachers would apply, and the houses would be built in the area that they want the house to be built.
“And if, by coincidence, the house is in your area of posting, then the money you would have paid as rent to some landlord will go to paying the cost of your own house, so that when you retire, you won’t go to your grandfather’s house and say, this was my grandmother’s room, and go fighting with your relatives,” he said.
“And so we’re going to work out the modalities of the housing fund. This year, we’re putting 500. Next year, we’re going to put one billion cedis in that housing fund.”
The President said it was appropriate for the government to deepen its partnership with GNAT further, and informed them that government was actively exploring arrangements to make suitable lands available to assist the housing project.
“We’re going to ask all the districts to provide land so that we can implement this housing project,” President Mahama said.
“This collaboration is aimed at improving the teachers’ living standards, strengthening teacher retention, particularly in rural areas, and ensuring that those who educate the nation live with dignity and security.”
President Mahama said in the 2025 budget, the government paid millions of cedis in teacher training allowances, restored promotion eligibility up to the rank of director, and placed over 30,000 diploma teachers who upgraded to degree status onto the appropriate salary scale.
He said, in addition, they were developing the modalities for implementing the 20 per cent base pay incentive for teachers who work in deprived and hard-to-reach areas.
These are not acts of charity.
He noted that they were strategic investments in quality education and national transformation.
President Mahama said teachers, through their unions, had also demonstrated foresight and responsibility.
“Today, the Ghana National Association of Teachers is recognized as the most progressive and forward-thinking trade unions in Ghana,” he said.
The President said beyond advocacy for teachers’ rights and teacher welfare, GNAT had built strong economic institutions that secure the future of its members.
He noted that the Teachers Fund was widely recognized as one of the best-managed workers’ funds in the country.
It is grounded in transparency, prudence, and long-term value creation for its members.
President Mahama on behalf of GNAT extended his appreciation to Mr Kwame Pianim, an eminent economist, for being the father of the Teachers Fund.
He said through the Teachers Fund properties and Teachers Fund financial services, GNAT had demonstrated that organized labour could combine solidarity with enterprise.
He cited that most notably, GNAT’s strategic investment in Aviance Ghana, a major ground-handling service provider at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, shows that unions could be active players in strategic sectors of the national economy.
Adding that this a powerful example of how unionism, enterprise, and national development can reinforce one another.
He mentioned the several hostels GNAT had built, including their imposing national headquarters with one of the few multi-story car parks in Accra City.
The President said there were further opportunities that GNAT had taken advantage of, which was the Ghana-Sweden Medical Centre.
The President said,there were oportunities for them to create a partnership under the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
He said the Ghana Medical Trust Fund was going to diagnose and treat non-communicable diseases, and so the Ghana-Sweden Cancer Center was going to be a partner to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund in treating non-communicable diseases, cancers, and others.
Reverend Isaac Owusu, National President of GNAT, condemned the spate of attacks on teachers in recent times, and that they were speaking for and on behalf of every single teacher in Ghana.
“And we are declaring that this year, 2026, we are declaring a zero tolerance for teacher assaults and brutality. Should any individual or a group of people attack any teacher in Ghana without any cause, we shall invoke the spirit of solidarity.”
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
January 05, 2026
