Budget Caps Teacher Hiring at 7,000 Despite 40,000+ Applicants, 50,000 Needed

The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has revealed that more than 40,000 applicants applied through the national teacher recruitment portal for only 7,000 available vacancies.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of e-Learning Africa, he explained that although Ghana continues to face a teacher shortage, the government has been granted financial clearance to recruit only 7,000 teachers due to budgetary limitations.

He noted that the recruitment process was conducted through an open and transparent system, but the portal was subsequently closed after applications exceeded 40,000 in order to prevent system overload.

According to him, if resources were available, the country could have recruited as many as 50,000 teachers to meet existing staffing gaps in schools across the country.

“If resources were available, we should be recruiting up to 50,000 teachers across the country, but due to budgetary constraints, we are unable to do that,” he said.

“The Ministry of Education received clearance from the Ministry of Finance to recruit 7,000 teachers.

In an open, transparent manner, it was advertised. As the portal opened and the number reached 40,000, it was closed.

The best 7,000 will be selected after careful assessment. We will do our best.”

He assured that selection will be based on merit, with qualified applicants undergoing careful evaluation before final appointments are made.