Ghana Needs 98,000 Teachers but Budget Limits Immediate Recruitment – Haruna Iddrisu
The government plans a phased recruitment of trained teachers after Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu revealed Ghana needs about 98,000 teachers but current compensation budgets cannot support immediate mass hiring.
Ghana’s Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has revealed that the country will need about 98,000 teachers to adequately staff schools nationwide, but current government compensation budgets cannot support recruiting all graduates at once. He explained that the government is therefore planning a phased recruitment strategy to gradually absorb trained teachers into the education system.
Speaking on New Day on TV3 Ghana on March 5, Mr. Iddrisu said the Ministry of Education (Ghana) is preparing a joint memorandum with the Ministry of Finance (Ghana) to seek Cabinet approval for the recruitment process. The proposal aims to begin absorbing trained teachers who completed their studies between 2023 and 2024, with graduates from 2025 expected to be considered later.
According to the minister, the government cannot recruit all graduates simultaneously due to financial limitations. However, he noted that the phased approach would allow the government to respond to urgent staffing needs across the country. “At a minimum we should be doing about 6,000 to 10,000 to start with in order to respond to the needs across the country,” he stated.
Mr. Iddrisu also expressed concern about what he described as a decline in the quality of basic education in Ghana. To address this, he disclosed that Ghana has secured $118 million in support from development partners to strengthen foundational literacy and learning outcomes in schools.
As part of the reforms, the Education Ministry is encouraging greater use of local languages in early childhood education, arguing that children learn more effectively when taught in their mother tongue during their formative years. While English remains the country’s official language, the policy aims to strengthen understanding during the early stages of schooling.
The minister explained that different regions are being encouraged to teach their dominant local languages in schools. For example, the Greater Accra Region is promoting the teaching of Ga language, while Akan-speaking areas are encouraged to teach Twi language. In northern regions, schools are promoting languages within the Mole-Dagbani ethnic group linguistic group.
He added that discussions are ongoing to expand the list of recognized languages used in schools, with a request currently under consideration to include the Builsa language. Ghana currently recognizes 12 official local languages for educational purposes.
The government believes that a combination of phased teacher recruitment, increased investment in foundational learning, and expanded local language instruction will help improve learning outcomes and strengthen Ghana’s basic education system.
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