Haruna Iddrisu Warns of 90,000 Teacher Deficit in Ghana’s Education Sector
- The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, announced a deficit of between 50,000 and 90,000 teachers in the educational sector
- The sector minister made public this development while addressing Parliament on Thursday, June 18, 2026
- The government received budgetary clearance to recruit only 7,000 new educators despite the high demand
The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has shared that Ghana’s education sector is grappling with a significant shortage of teachers.
Source: Facebook
The country currently requires between 50,000 and 90,000 additional teachers to adequately meet the demands of schools nationwide.
Addressing Parliament during a session focused on teacher recruitment and staffing, the minister explained that financial limitations and strict budgetary restrictions have made it difficult for the government to secure the necessary numbers to bridge the existing gap.
Recent institutional reforms have further decentralised deployment, spreading the available human resources thinner across new and existing agencies.
Budgetary clearances versus educational needs
The establishment and expansion of bodies like the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) alongside the Ghana Education Service (GES) have created parallel demands for qualified personnel.
The minister highlighted the friction between the actual manpower requirements on the ground and the fiscal limits imposed by national budget allocations.
"The country has evolved, and we have taken reforms that will benefit education in the foreseeable future. We now have the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and the GES, and so when we are recruiting, we allocate teachers for TVET and GES, but there is a difference between need and what I have budgetary approval for. My need for teachers is between 50,000 and 90,000, but I had clearance for 7,000, and that is what I am making do with," the minister stated.
The disparity has fueled public debate among education stakeholders and unemployed trained teachers, many of whom have expressed frustration over limited state recruitment drives. Observers note that the intake of 7,000 falls far short of clearing the backlog of qualified graduates waiting for official postings.
Source: YEN.com.gh
