The Minister for Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, has revealed that Ghana’s education sector is currently facing a substantial shortfall in teaching staff, necessitating an additional 50,000 to 90,000 teachers to adequately staff schools nationwide.
In his address to Parliament on Thursday, June 18, 2026, the Minister elaborated that financial limitations have hindered the government’s ability to recruit the necessary number of teachers to close this gap.
He stated that although the demand for teachers is significant, the government has only secured financial clearance to recruit 7,000 teachers this year.
“My requirement for teachers ranges between 50,000 and 90,000, yet I have clearance for 7,000, which I must manage,” Mr. Iddrisu informed Parliament.
The Minister attributed the increasing demand for teachers to ongoing reforms within the education sector, including the expansion of institutions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET).
He noted that newly recruited teachers must be distributed between the GES and the TVET sector, further straining the already limited number of available personnel for deployment.
“The country has evolved, and we have implemented reforms that will benefit education in the foreseeable future. We now have the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education in addition to the GES, and thus, when recruiting, we allocate teachers for both TVET and GES. However, there is a discrepancy between the need and the budgetary approval I have received,” he explained.
The Minister’s remarks highlight the government’s recent decision to recruit only 7,000 teachers, a decision that has raised concerns among education stakeholders and unemployed trained teachers. Many argue that this figure is insufficient to address the growing backlog of qualified graduates awaiting employment.
