The Coalition of unemployed graduates living with disabilities have issued government a one-week ultimatum to reconsider its recent Ghana Education Service (GES) recruitment exercise, warning that they will occupy the Jubilee House, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service if none of their qualified members are offered appointment letters within the deadline.
The ultimatum was announced by Gilbert Boateng, Convener of the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disability, who said the group’s demands stem from what he described as a broken government assurance that persons with disabilities would be gradually absorbed into public sector institutions, including through the recent teacher recruitment exercise.
Boateng traced the group’s grievances back to a demonstration the Coalition staged in March 2026, during which members raised concerns about severe unemployment among their ranks and pressed government for concrete commitments on absorption into public service positions.
He explained that the Coalition had treated the GES recruitment exercise as a test of government’s sincerity, having submitted a list of roughly 200 certified teachers with valid licences and relevant degrees or diplomas from tertiary institutions and colleges of education, in anticipation that the constitutionally recognised 5 percent disability quota would translate into meaningful placements.
“We are expecting that at least out of the 7,000 people that Ghana Education Service sought to recruit, a 5 percent quota would give you 350 placements, and the numbers we submitted were not even up to that. We anticipated that all 200 people would be given the opportunity to sail through the process.”
Gilbert Boateng, Convener of the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disability,
Zero Successful Placements Sparks Outrage
According to Boateng, the outcome of the recruitment exercise fell dramatically short of these expectations, with none of the Coalition’s 200 nominated candidates ultimately selected for teaching positions under the exercise. He described the outcome as deeply troubling and difficult to reconcile with earlier government assurances.
“We received very shocking news that none of our members was actually considered to be recruited as a teacher in Ghana. We find that to be very unacceptable, very repugnant.”
He noted that the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations, the Coalition’s parent body, had engaged the Ministry of Education in a series of meetings prior to the recruitment, during which officials reportedly assured the group that qualified, certified candidates on their list would not be excluded from the process purely on account of disability.
Failed Attempts to Meet the Minister
Boateng disclosed that before issuing the ultimatum, the Coalition, working alongside the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations, made repeated efforts to secure a meeting with the Minister of Education to seek clarity on why none of their candidates had been selected. He said the group visited the Ministry on three separate occasions but was unable to meet the Minister directly.
“All our efforts were proven futile because the minister was not available. We could only meet the secretary to the minister, but he couldn’t provide any satisfactory response to the questions we were asking.”
Gilbert Boateng, Convener of the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disability,
Boateng said this lack of engagement ultimately left the Coalition with no option but to escalate its concerns publicly through the one-week ultimatum, while stressing that the group remains open to renegotiating with GES rather than insisting on an all-or-nothing outcome.
Despite the strong language of the ultimatum, Boateng indicated the Coalition was prepared to accept a phased or partial resolution, provided government demonstrated genuine commitment to eventually accommodating all qualified candidates on their list.
He explained that the group would be willing to accept an appreciable number of placements now, with the understanding that remaining candidates could be considered in future recruitment rounds, so long as government did not simply exclude all 200 nominated individuals outright.
Threat to Occupy Government Institutions
Boateng was unequivocal about the Coalition’s next steps should government fail to respond meaningfully within the stipulated week, framing the planned action as an indefinite occupation of key government institutions.
“After the one week, if we don’t see any concrete, actionable plan on the part of government in ensuring these people are offered their appointment letters, we want to occupy the Jubilee House as the seat of government indefinitely. We will also occupy the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service concurrently.”
Gilbert Boateng, Convener of the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disability,
He argued that the 5 percent disability employment quota referenced throughout the Coalition’s demands is not merely a policy aspiration, but a legal obligation government is required to fulfil across all public sector recruitment exercises, a distinction he said underscored the seriousness of the group’s grievance.
With the ultimatum now publicly issued, attention turns to how swiftly the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service respond in the coming days. Should the one-week deadline pass without a concrete resolution, the Coalition has signalled its readiness to escalate through direct occupation of major government institutions, setting up a potential standoff over the practical implementation of Ghana’s disability employment quota within the public sector.
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