INCENTIVES AND RURAL AREA TEACHING: A CASE STUDY OF ABURA-ASEBU-KWAMANKESE DISTRICT

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to investigate whether incentives would be able to draw teachers from urban areas to accept posting to the rural areas and to remain and if so what type of incentives.The theoretical review centred on incentive offers for teachers. Factors underlying the perception of incentives and theories of teacher migration were reviewed. The study was a descriptive survey. The instrument used for the study was the questionnaire and interview guide. The stratified random sampling technique helped the researcher to select a sample size of two hundred and eighty seven (287) who constituted the respondents. The major findings from the study revealed several causes leading to teachers refusing posting to the rural areas. Among these were feeding, accommodation, poor health care facilities and lack of teaching/learning materials. The study also revealed that even though some incentive packages were purported to have been sent to teachers in the rural area, only a few teachers seemed to be aware of them.Recommendations were made to the means of getting teachers accepting posting to the rural area schools. Pertinent among these recommendations was the need for provision of residential accommodation for rural area teachers. The study concluded that what the teachers needed was not merely incentives but enabling conditions that will enhance their work as professionals.