The Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to set aside a portion of teacher recruitment slots for persons living with disabilities.

He made the directive during a visit to the Boako M/A Basic School examination centre in the Western North Region, where Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates were preparing to sit their papers.

Mr Iddrisu said the decision was informed by recent reflections and public messages on inclusion and equal opportunity within the education sector.

Explaining his motivation, he said: “On May Day, I learned three lessons. One was GRIDCo. Their placards were very educational on safety. Then I read in Kumasi that blind teachers are also teachers. That was to remind me.”

He then instructed the leadership of GES to adjust recruitment practices accordingly.

“So, Director General, you are accordingly directed that you must allocate a certain percentage of your recruitment to teachers with disability in your cohort,” he said.

The Minister added that the education sector must make deliberate provision for persons with disabilities in teaching roles.

“We must have room to respond to that,” he added.

During the same engagement, Mr Iddrisu also raised concerns over outstanding allowances owed to teachers, including car maintenance, transfer and promotion allowances.

He said the matter would be taken up with the Finance Minister to explore possible solutions.

“The other, I would have to take it up with the Honourable Minister for Finance. It’s about outstanding car maintenance allowance, transfer allowance, and promotion allowance. We’ll see what we do about it,” he said.