Minster for Education, Haruna Iddrisu has revealed that approximately 5,000 schools across Ghana are still operating under trees, lacking proper infrastructure.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Iddrisu expressed concern over the existing infrastructure gaps, particularly in junior high schools, highlighting deficiencies in both physical and digital resources.

He questioned the quality of teaching materials, asking, “What kind of blackboards do they use? What kind of teaching goes on in there?”

The Minister further lamented that, three decades after the 1992 constitution, Ghana has yet to achieve free compulsory universal basic education.

"There are about 759 schools that require urgent infrastructure intervention, in terms of schools under trees, and it is a shame for me, I mean 30 years after the promulgation of the 1992 constitution, it is unacceptable that Ghana has not attained free compulsory Universal basic education," he stated.

He described the situation as “unacceptable,” noting that approximately 759 schools urgently require infrastructure interventions to eliminate the phenomenon of schools under trees.

Addressing disparities in educational quality, according to him, he had observed that urban areas tend to offer better education compared to rural regions, with southern Ghana generally outperforming the northern parts, including Western North and Oti regions.

"So when you come to secondary education, infrastructure is still a problem. We have 5,000 schools which are still under trees. You still have the quality problem between the north and the south and between rural and urban," he said.

He added, "more quality in urban areas and less quality in rural areas, more quality in southern Ghana and less quality in Northern Ghana including western north and Oti region."

He emphasised the need to correct these imbalances to ensure students acquire 21st-century competencies.

"You have to work to correct that in order that the competences are 21^st century," he noted.