7,000 Newly Recruited Teachers to Begin Work on July 1 — Education Minister

The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced that a new batch of recruited teachers will begin work across Ghana from July 1, with about 7,000 teachers expected to be engaged in the latest exercise.

Speaking in Parliament, the Minister said efforts are still underway to increase the number of recruits, but any additional recruitment would depend on budgetary approval.

“First of July, a new batch of recruited teachers will start work across Ghana and some 7,000 teachers will be recruited,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu added that he is still in discussions with the Minister for Finance to see whether the figure can be increased.

“I’m still engaging with the Honourable Minister for Finance to increase the numbers for recruitment of teachers, but you know it must be on budget, so maybe when he comes for his mid-year review he will look at it,” he stated.

The Minister also used the opportunity to highlight the need for inclusive recruitment, particularly for visually impaired teachers.

According to him, his attention was drawn to the issue during this year’s May Day celebration.

“My attention was drawn during the May Day celebration when one of the workers was dancing with a placard that blind teachers are also teachers, to remind me that when you are doing recruitment, take care of blind teachers,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu further revealed that some traditional authorities and stakeholders have requested more support for the teaching of Ghanaian languages in schools.

He said there is growing concern, especially in parts of Greater Accra and Savannah, about the shortage of teachers for local languages.

“I’ve had requests from His Royal Majesty the Ga Mantse that look, even in Greater Accra, they have a challenge with Ghana teachers and probably even in other languages across the country, in Savannah it came up, we should be having dedicated teachers,” he said.

The Minister stressed that children learn better when local languages are used alongside English in the early stages of education.

“It is our firm belief and faith that when children learn with a local language as first language of instruction, in addition to English, learning outcomes improve,” he added.

The announcement is expected to bring relief to many trained teachers awaiting posting, while also renewing attention on inclusive recruitment and the need for more language teachers in basic schools.