The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has disclosed that 176 teachers currently working in classrooms across the Prestea Huni-Valley Constituency are being paid directly by parents due to ongoing staffing shortages in public schools.

Speaking before Parliament, the Minister said the situation reflects a broader structural challenge within the education sector, with Ghana’s teacher deficit estimated at nearly 50,000.

To address the gap, Mr. Iddrisu announced that the government has commenced a nationwide recruitment exercise involving 7,000 teachers and 3,000 lecturers to strengthen staffing levels and improve the delivery of education across all levels.

“Currently, we are undertaking some recruitment of about 7,000 teachers across the country,” he stated.

He explained that the Ghana Education Service (GES) had previously carried out a situational assessment in the Prestea Huni-Valley area to determine the scale of the challenge.

“A team from the Ghana Education Service visited the area in 2023 to undertake a situational assessment. The findings confirm 176 number of community teachers operating in the area,” he said.

Mr. Iddrisu stressed that while the situation requires urgent intervention, recruitment processes remain subject to financial clearance.

“So we have to act and act well on this matter. Yes, it’s true. I am currently subject to approval and clearance from the Minister of Finance. That is only when I can take the initiative to recruit teachers,” he explained.

He reiterated that the government is actively working to fill critical staffing gaps in the education sector.

“So we are currently recruiting 7,000 teachers across the country. And for the tertiary education level, close to 3,000 lecturers will be able to fill in the gap,” he added.

However, he cautioned that the scale of the national deficit remains significant.

“If you do a national assessment of our needs, we need a minimum of 50,000 teachers across the country. But that is subject to budget and the budget being able to absorb that,” he stated.

Mr. Iddrisu further announced that a new batch of recruited teachers will officially begin work across the country on July 1 this year, as part of efforts to strengthen education delivery and reduce the staffing gap.

“First of July, a new batch of recruited teachers will start work across Ghana, and some 7,000 teachers will be recruited,” he said.

He added that the government is still engaging the Ministry of Finance to potentially increase recruitment numbers, although this remains dependent on available fiscal space.

“I’m still engaging with the Minister for finance to increase the numbers for the recruitment of teachers. It must be on budget,” he stated.

He indicated that the matter could be reconsidered during the mid-year budget review to allow for possible expansion of recruitment.

Mr. Iddrisu also highlighted concerns about inclusivity in recruitment, particularly for persons with disabilities.

“My attention was drawn during the May Day celebration when one of the workers was dancing with a placard that blind teachers are also teachers to remind me that when you are doing recruitment, take care of blind teachers,” he said.

He further noted appeals from traditional leaders and language communities for targeted deployment of teachers to support mother-tongue instruction.

“I’ve had requests from His Royal Majesty, Ga Mantse, that look, even in Greater Accra, they have a challenge with Ga teachers and probably Ewe in other areas across the country,” he said.

According to him, similar concerns have been raised in the Savannah Region, where stakeholders are calling for the deployment of teachers fluent in local languages.

He stressed that mother-tongue instruction plays a critical role in improving learning outcomes, particularly in the early years of education.