By: Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
President John Dramani Mahama has announced a significant shift in the teacher recruitment process, aiming to address the uneven distribution of teachers across the country by stating categorically, the exemption of three cities in the recruitment process.
He revealed that, Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi were closed with regards to the recruitment of teachers and stressing the need to focus on the districts.
“Our problem in this country is the over-supply of teachers in cities. Henceforth, recruitment of teachers will be done in districts; no centralized postings. Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi are closed”, he noted during a presidential dialogue with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) today.
President Mahama hinted that, government will decentralize teacher recruitment, allowing districts to handle the process, rather than the current centralized system in Accra.
This move, he explained, is expected to prioritize rural areas, where teacher shortages are most severe and to reduce the phenomenon of “ghost teachers” and improve education quality.
“We have villages where one teacher teaches all subjects just because teachers who are posted there refuse to report”.
The President emphasized that, the current system has led to inefficiencies, with some areas having too many teachers while others struggle to find qualified staff. The new system will allow for more accurate tracking of teacher deployment and attendance.
