EduWatch calls on Gov’t to stop teachers appointments revocation

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) has called on the central government to rescind its directive for appointments and recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff of the Ghana Education Service (GES) not yet on payroll to be revoked.

In a social media post sighted by Pretertiary.com, the Executive Director of EduWatch, Kofi Asare said “What’s the basis for revoking the appointment of licensed teachers if they were employed through the right procedure, and are teaching? What happens to the education rights of the thousands of children they are teaching? The Gov’t must STOP This!”

The Education Watch Director’s call comes after the Ghana Education Service (GES) in a letter said it with immediate effect has revoked the appointments and recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff yet to be placed on the government.

GES said the directive is pursuant to the letter dated 10 February 2025 with reference No. SCR/DA/85/85/01/A on the above subject matter from the office of the President in accordance with the Chief of Staff’s directive

It therefore directed all Regional and District/Municipal/Metropolitan Directors to ensure the directive is strictly adhered to adding they would be notified of any further directive concerning this issue as and when necessary.

In line with EduWatch, a former spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng has described the government’s decision to revoke appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff not on payroll as cruel and unjust.

In a Facebook post sighted by Pretertiary.com, he said GES obtained financial clearance to recruit graduates from the Colleges of Education on August 1st, 2024 adding that in September, additional clearance was granted for university graduates with teaching licenses to be employed.

“Recruitment into GES is not an overnight event, it’s a process that involves verifying certifications, validating licenses, conducting background checks, and ensuring compliance with policy. The subsequent release of appointment letters often takes time, usually issued over extended period, sometimes extending beyond an election period

Under normal circumstances, newly appointed staff wait an average of three to six months to obtain their staff IDs, which are required for migration onto the government payroll. Some, due to administrative & technical constraints, wait even longer, sometimes over a year. These are common challenges that every government, past and present, has faced

It is, therefore, cruel and unjust to revoke these appointments simply because these recruits had not yet been placed on the government payroll, especially when the delays are not their making,” Kwasi Kwarteng stated.