According to Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (EduWatch), the teacher shortage in Ghana is negatively impacting education, particularly in rural areas. The teacher shortage has caused 1.2 million Ghanaian children to drop out of school.
Kofi Asare, on the topic, backed his statement with statistics to facilitate analysis and a better understanding of the challenges facing the education sector.
Full submission on the subject by Kofi Asare
TEACHER SHORTAGE IS SUFFOCATING GHANA’S FOUNDATIONAL LEARNING EFFORTS.
In 2023, 62 per cent of public primary school pupils could not read, especially in rural areas. This is the face of learning poverty in Ghana.
Since 2021, government and donors have spent over 400 million dollars on teacher training, supervision and learning materials to improve foundational learning.
Yet results remain poor because one fundamental problem persists – the absence of teachers in many rural schools.
A new report by School for Life and partners shows that 68 per cent of teacher shortages are in rural areas.
At Jilma Primary in Chereponi, only one teacher manages the entire school.
In Bunkpurugu Nakpanduri, Central Gonja and Tatale Sanguli, teacher deficits average 70 per cent at the kindergarten and primary levels.
The situation is even worse in Central Gonja, where by June 2024, kindergarten teacher deficits stood at 86 per cent.
We can spend billions on workshops and learning materials, but without teachers, nothing will come out of nothing.
Ghana is the only country in West Africa that does not lack qualified teachers.
We have more than enough and even export some.
Yet about 70k trained education staff remain at home because the Minister for Finance has delayed clearance for recruitment.
In the Ministry of Education’s 2025 budget, government planned to spend about 28 billion cedis on salaries and related expenses, including teacher hiring.
But each day of delay deepens learning poverty and forces more children, especially in Central Gonja and Chereponi, out of school.
Already, 1.2 million children are out of school, many because there is no teacher in their community.
Every day the Minister delays, he must remember that at least 36 pupils drop out of school daily in Ghana due to among others, the lack of a teacher.
The Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson must act now. His inaction is suffocating progress.
Hiring teachers is not just creating jobs; It is more of restoring the right to education for Ghana’s excluded children.
KINDLY SHARE… Thanks for sharing. PLEASE, JOIN OUR TELEGRAM PAGE >>>HERE for more updates. Follow the BlowGrade.com channel on WhatsApp >>>here Follow us on Facebook here >>> for more updates
Source: Blowgrade.com