The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has called on Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, to swiftly take action with respect to financial commitment to the Ministry of Education’s budget for the recruitment of teachers, given the worsening situation of teacher shortage in public basic schools.
Mr. Asare noted that teacher shortage in public basic schools, especially in rural areas, is a major problem that is undermining all efforts by government and doners towards improving foundational learning in Ghana.
He further stated that the reluctance in recruiting more teachers is another major issue that is directly linked to the issues of school drop out and what he termed “the face of learning poverty in Ghana.”
Mr. Asare stated that instead of spending big on teacher training, supervision, and learning materials in the attempts to improve foundational learning, the core problem which need urgent attention teacher shortage.
“Since 2021, government and donors have spent over 400 million dollars on teacher training, supervision and learning materials to improve foundational learning. Yet results remain poor because one fundamental problem persists – the absence of teachers in many rural schools”.
Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director, Africa Education Watch.
He argued that the efforts at improving foundational learning in Ghana will not yield the needed results if more teachers are not recruited into public basic schools. “We can spend billions on workshops and learning materials, but without teachers, nothing will come out of nothing,” Mr Asare remarked.
He lamented the dire nature of the situation in some parts of the country, especially in the Northen parts. According to him, places such as Chereponi, Bunkpurugu Nakpanduri, Central Gonja and Tatale Sanguli, are at the epicenter of this problem.
He further lamented that the situation is very much critical in Central Gonja, whereas at June 2024, there was 86 percent teacher deficits at kindergarten level, where as the average teacher deficits in other areas captured stood at 70 percent at both the kindergarten and primary levels.
Worsening Trend in Rural Ghana
Mr. Asare further noted that this situation is very much concerning in the rural parts of the country, given a report by the School for Life and Partners. “A new report by School for Life and partners shows that 68 per cent of teacher shortages are in rural areas”, he stated.
He underscored the point that the challenge that has become the lamentations of education experts does not arise from the fact that Ghana does not have the trained and skilled personnel, rather it arises from government reluctance with clearance for the recruitment of teachers.
“Ghana is the only country in West Africa that does not lack qualified teachers. We have more than enough and even export some. Yet about 70k trained education staff remain at home because the Minister for Finance has delayed clearance for recruitment.”
Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director, Africa Education Watch
He noted that the Ministry of Education 2025 budget made provision for the recruitment of teachers; however, the main issue, as he stated, has to do with the Finance Minister’s delay in issuing clearance for recruitment.
Delay is Suicidal
Mr. Asare warned that the Finance Minister’s continual delay is aggravating the plight of children in many rural areas, who are sometimes forced to drop out of school due to lack of teachers.
“…each day of delay deepens learning poverty and forces more children, especially in Central Gonja and Chereponi, out of school. Every day the Minister delays, he must remember that at least 36 pupils drop out of school daily in Ghana due to among others, the lack of a teacher”.
Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director, Africa Education Watch
He therefore called on the minister to act swiftly by issuing clearance for the recruitment of teachers, which he believes is not just for the purposes of providing jobs for unemployed trained teachers, but for the purposes of “restoring the right to education for Ghana’s excluded children”.
Through this call, EduWatch is once again drawing attention to the urgent need for policy coherence and fiscal responsibility in the education sector, warning that without teachers in classrooms, Ghana’s vision of achieving quality foundational learning for all will remain a distant dream.
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