The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has assured that the government will work to increase the 7,000 teacher recruitment slots recently announced, following growing concerns from teacher unions over the adequacy of the figure.
The assurance comes after the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and other teacher unions expressed dissatisfaction with the allocation, arguing that it falls short of addressing the employment needs of over 10,000 trained graduates from Colleges of Education and other tertiary institutions who are still awaiting posting.
Speaking in an interview during the May Day celebrations in Kumasi on Friday, May 1, the Minister acknowledged that the current quota is inadequate to meet national demand.
He noted that while 15,000 recruitment slots have been allocated for health workers, the number for teachers remains comparatively lower, despite the fact that the education sector serves a significantly larger network of institutions.
According to him, there is a strong case for increasing the number of teachers to be recruited, given that Ghana has more schools than hospitals across the country.
“The 7,000 is not enough, particularly where health workers had 15,000 and others. There are more schools than hospitals, so government will work and up the numbers,” he stated.
Mr. Iddrisu assured that government remains committed to addressing the concerns and will engage relevant stakeholders to adjust the recruitment figures in line with national needs.
