Teacher Kwadwo
Former Ministry of Education Spokesperson, Kwasi Kwarteng, has appealed to Ghanaians not to associate the dismissal of social media influencer, Teacher Kwadwo, with former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to him, Teacher Kwadwo’s criticism of the Akufo-Addo administration was of the least concern to the former president, emphasising that the outspoken teacher who advocated for better and quality education for rural communities was absent from school over a year.
“There is a guy called Teacher Kwadwo. I heard he was sacked because about a year he had not been in office. And people were making noise all over that Akufo-Addo government is against teachers. Teacher Kwadwo spoke about Akufo-Addo. Who is Teacher Kwadwo that Akufo-Addo will waste time on? How many criticisms haven’t the president received at that time? Apart from Government of Ghana, there is no institution in the world that someone will be absent for a year and be normalised,” he said.
Michael Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Teacher Kwadwo, was dismissed (not just suspended) by the Ghana Education Service (GES) in December 2021. Officially, the GES cited professional misconduct, including absenteeism, refusal to submit lesson plans, and insubordination. He had been vocal about reforming GES practices, leading to public debate.
He denied the allegations, stating his absences were authorised orally and that he was targeted for campaigning for better school conditions. He claimed to have submitted typed lesson notes rather than hand-written ones.
As of August 2025, the GES officially denied rumours that Teacher Kwadwo had been reinstated, advising him to file a formal petition if he wished to contest his 2021 dismissal.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke