The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has disclosed that more than 40,000 applicants submitted applications through the Ghana Education Service recruitment portal for just 7,000 available teaching positions.
Speaking on the sidelines of the eLearning Africa launch, Mr. Iddrisu explained that although Ghana continues to face a teacher deficit, financial clearance was granted for only 7,000 recruitments.
He assured that the most qualified candidates would be selected through a transparent and merit-based process.
“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 stated.
According to him, the Ministry of Education received approval from the Ministry of Finance to proceed with the limited recruitment exercise.
“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 added.
The recruitment portal has since been shut to prevent the system from being overwhelmed, following the overwhelming response from job seekers.
The development highlights both the high demand for teaching jobs and the ongoing challenges faced by the government in addressing staffing gaps within the education sector due to financial constraints.
