The Ghana education sector is currently in need of about 83,000 teachers to meet nationwide demand; however, only 7,000 have been cleared for employment, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has said.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, June 18, during discussions on issues relating to teacher recruitment and staffing within the education sector, the Minister also highlighted the government's ongoing reforms in the sector and the progress made under them.

According to him, the sector is grappling with a major teacher deficit that continues to affect effective teaching and learning across the country. However, financial constraints and budget limitations have made it difficult for the government to recruit the number of teachers required.

“My need for teachers is between 50,000 and 90,000, but I had clearance for 7,000, and that is what I am making do with,” the Minister said.

He stated that the establishment and strengthening of institutions such as the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) have created additional staffing demands that must be addressed within the limits of available resources.

“The country has evolved, and we have undertaken reforms that will benefit education in the foreseeable future. We now have the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and the GES, and so when we are recruiting, we allocate teachers for TVET and GES. But there is a difference between need and what I have budgetary approval for.”

The Education Minister’s remarks provide clarity on why the Ghana Education Service (GES) recently opened its 2026 teacher recruitment portal but had to close it abruptly after receiving over 40,000 applications for just 7,000 available positions. The portal, launched on April 10, 2026, was originally meant to remain open for about a week but was shut down early due to the overwhelming number of applications.

Many trained teachers expressed disappointment with the limited recruitment exercise, arguing that the number of available positions falls far short of addressing the growing backlog of unemployed education graduates across the country.

Aside from the challenge of recruiting only 7,000 out of the more than 90,000 teachers needed nationwide, the government also faced challenges in paying those who had already been working since 2024.

The Ministry of Finance has cleared the Ghana Education Service (GES) to pay the salary arrears of teachers covering the period from August 1, 2024, to November 2025.

However, the payments will be made in five instalments, GES announced in a formal statement dated April 20 and signed by the Acting Deputy Director-General (Management Services), Prof. Smile Dzisi, on behalf of the Director-General of GES.

“Management of the Ghana Education Service hereby informs all Regional Directors that approval has been granted by the Ministry of Finance for the payment of salary arrears by CAGD to eligible staff of GES from 1st August 2024 to November 2025,” parts of the statement read.

The payment of the arrears is scheduled to begin in May 2026. The arrears will be paid over four months, with four months’ arrears to be settled in each of May, June, July, and August.

“The accruing arrears are to be paid in five (5) instalments…” the statement added.

This comes after the education regulator secured financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance in 2024 following the posting of the teachers.

The statement, addressed to all Regional Directors, indicated that the Ministry of Finance had authorised the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) to process the payments. GES also directed all heads of schools to inform their eligible staff.

The Service directed Regional Directors to communicate the development to all Heads of Schools to ensure that affected staff were duly informed.

The move is expected to bring relief to affected staff who have been awaiting payment of their outstanding salaries.

Meanwhile, it will be recalled that the Ghana Education Service (GES), in a press statement dated October 16, announced that it had received financial clearance to pay the salaries of 6,249 teachers recruited in 2024.

These teachers had been working after their postings but had not been placed on the government payroll and were therefore not receiving salaries for their services.

However, after the Ministry of Finance authorised their payment, the education regulator announced that they could begin receiving salaries. In Ghana’s public sector, recruits cannot be paid until the Ministry of Finance issues financial clearance.