A survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports in some schools in the country has revealed that there are 1,453 excess teachers in the system. The survey covered a sample of 25,781 teachers. The survey also indicated a shortage of teachers in some schools and stated that more work needed to be done to determine the actual teacher needs of all basic schools in the country and track actual vacancies and excesses, especially at the primary school level. The sector Minister, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, disclosed this in Accra on Wednesday at the National Education Sector Annual Review (NESAR) organised by the ministry in collaboration with stakeholders, with the aim of providing the opportunity for all to participate in the review of educational sector performance that would guarantee the delivery of the quality education that the nation aspired to achieve. It was also aimed at assessing progress towards the achievement of sector goals and objectives, including the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He added that there was also the need to come up with guidelines and modalities for the proper and efficient deployment of teachers in the country. Papa Owusu-Ankomah stated that the ministry was poised to deal with the challenge of teacher management and deployment facing the country. He said to that end, a software on teacher demand and supply had been developed to help manage issues in order to ensure the proper and effective deployment of teachers. He indicated that the new development followed two studies conducted to determine the underlying and consequent factors which related to vacancies and overstaffing which indicated the need for a revision of the norms of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on teacher distribution and the enforcement of new norms. On the issue of salaries of teachers, he said the government was working with the Fair Wages Commission (FWC) and others to ensure that workers were paid living wages and gave assurance that the government would come up with the best approach to dealing with matters relating to salaries, wages and conditions. "We are confident that the outcome of the reform process will provide the solution to the perennial problem of agitation for better conditions of service and also provide enough motivation for teachers to give their best," he stated. The minister indicated that there had been progress in creating a literate populace through the Education for All programme and non-formal education. “Currently more learners are being recruited which has contributed to increase the literacy rate from 53.4 percent in 2003/4 to the current rate of 61.7 percent," he stated. A Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, who chaired the function, said his ministry expected cost implications of the educational reform to enable the ministry to allocate funds. He said the launch of the educational reform in April was a notable landmark in the development of education in the country. He added that the reforms would restructure the content of education and improve management to provide technical, vocational and agricultural education and training, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and link education to the world of work. Dr Akoto Osei called on donors and partners to assist in bringing up a generation of well-skilled people who would compete favourably with the outside world. The Director of the Basic Education Division of the Ministry, Mr Bertinus Bagbin, in his paper, attributed the increase of seven percent in enrolment at the kindergarten level and primary grades to the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme. He said though the two programmes had impacted positively on enrolment, they were still faced with the challenge of effective utilisation, efficient management and sustainability and recommended strategic measures to deal with the problems. Culled from Daily Graphic