The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced that the Ministry of Education has secured financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance to recruit at least 7,000 teachers from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 cohorts of trained teachers.
The move forms part of government’s ongoing efforts to address the persistent teacher deficit in basic and second-cycle institutions across the country. Many newly trained teachers from these cohorts have been awaiting posting and absorption into the Ghana Education Service (GES) for several years.
Speaking on the development, Mr Iddrisu disclosed that universities across the country have also been granted approval to recruit 1,200 faculty members to strengthen academic staffing and improve the quality of tertiary education.
The announcement comes amid growing concerns over teacher shortages, particularly in rural and underserved communities, where some classrooms have reportedly operated without adequate teaching staff. Education stakeholders, including Africa Education Watch, have repeatedly called for urgent recruitment to prevent further decline in learning outcomes.
The clearance for the 7,000 teachers is expected to help clear part of the backlog of unemployed trained teachers while addressing staffing gaps in public schools. In recent months, some members of the 2023 and 2024 cohorts have expressed frustration over delays in their recruitment and payment of salaries for those already posted.
The Minister’s disclosure signals government’s commitment to tackling human resource challenges in the education sector, following earlier promises of large-scale recruitment. In 2025, the government had indicated plans to recruit significantly higher numbers of teachers, though actual figures approved were lower due to fiscal constraints.
The recruitment of additional university lecturers is also expected to ease pressure on tertiary institutions, many of which have not been granted clearance to replace retiring staff or expand faculty for several years.