About 404 schools in the Northern Region have no teachers at all. That’s according to a Ghana Education Service Staff Establishment Exercise undertaken in the region.  

The report said classes are handled by untrained voluntary teachers engaged by the community who are at post as and when they receive what the report described as stipends.

The report dated 3rd March 2014 and signed by the Acting Director General of the GES Charles Aheto-Tsegah and cited by Joy News  said whilst 404 schools have no teachers, representing 7,567 shortage, the Sagnarigu district and Tamale metro alone  have excess of about 1,197 whilst the rest of the 28 districts have 1,268 teachers who are redundant.

Whilst the Bunkrugu and Yunyoo Districts topped with 92 schools without teachers, Kumbungu District was the least with 3 schools without teachers. The report also identified 620 names of teachers who were either dead, taken leave of absence, vacation of post, resignation and yet their names where on the government pay role.

The report identified the illegal appointment of local managers of schools by regional Managers of Education in the region, over staffing in regional managers offices, two schools in the same compound with two head teachers, a number of basic schools being handled by pupil teachers, teachers with health problems still attached to their schools even though their input is very insignificant and in some cases some with mental problems as some of the challenges hindering education in the area.

The report has therefore recommended regional offices to embark on a well planned staff rationalization to allow schools without teachers to receive excess teachers from other areas to enhance academic work.

It also recommended that newly trained teachers for 2014 be posted to schools with vacancies or without teachers; district directors must ensure that staff who leave the service on leave of absence, resignations, vacation of post and death have their names deleted in order to normalize the system.