The NDC Must Not Repeat the Mistakes That Once Sent It Into Opposition

The growing frustration among newly employed teachers over the government’s failure to pay their full salaries should serve as a serious warning to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. These were some of the very issues that angered Ghanaians in the past and contributed to the party’s exit from office years ago. If the NDC repeats the same mistakes, the political consequences may be even worse this time.

Reports of teachers working for several months only to receive just a single month’s salary are not only disappointing but deeply unfair. No professional in any sector should be treated this way, especially not teachers—individuals who form the backbone of Ghana’s education system. The recent drama involving the validation and subsequent withdrawal of teachers’ allowances has further inflamed tensions, creating the impression that the government is either unsure of what it is doing or simply not taking the welfare of teachers seriously.

At a time when the government has rolled out a new curriculum that demands more effort, preparation, innovation, and additional responsibilities from teachers, this level of neglect is unacceptable. Teachers cannot be expected to deliver quality results in an already struggling educational system when the state is failing to fulfil the most basic obligations owed to them.

If the government truly has no money to employ teachers or pay their arrears, then honesty and transparency are the least teachers deserve. Leaving them to labour for months without pay—only to reward them with a single month’s salary—is not just disrespectful; it is insulting. Such treatment risks demoralising teachers further at a time when morale is already low across the education sector.

Ghanaians turned to the NDC as an alternative because they were exhausted by the economic hardships and governance failures under the NPP. They wanted relief, fairness, and a government that values workers—especially teachers who shape the next generation. But if the NDC begins to replicate the same broken systems that frustrated Ghanaians under the previous administration, then the disappointment will be even deeper, and the backlash much stronger.

The NDC government must sit up. It must correct these salary delays, restore trust, and treat teachers with the dignity they deserve. Anything less risks eroding public confidence and preparing the grounds for another electoral defeat.

Teachers are not asking for luxury—only fairness. They should not be taken for granted any longer. The government must act now, or risk paying a far heavier price at the next polls.