Ghana’s education sector requires over 90,000 recruitments – MoE

The central government is working with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to secure financial clearance for the recruitment of more than 90,000 personnel into the education sector, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said.

The Education Minister speaking at the 22nd Biennial Congress of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) in Aburi, Eastern Region, said, “In our space alone, we require 93,000 recruitments to fill vacancies for institutions of higher learning, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, the Ghana Education Service, and the TVET service,” he announced.

The 22nd Biennial Congress of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) in Aburi, Eastern Region. The event was held on the theme: “Rethinking Higher Education Pedagogy and Funding in the Age of AI: Ethics, Equity, and Development Impact.”

Mr Haruna Iddrisu praised the University Teachers Association of Ghana for its foresight in addressing the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education, noting that AI was no longer futuristic but a present reality.

“AI will change the way we learn, the way we teach, and the way we practice. Mainstreaming it as part of your pedagogical changes is significant. What is important is guaranteeing ethical integrity even as we operate in the age of AI,” he said.

The Tamale South Member of Parliament added, “As you train persons for critical thinking and problem solving, we also should invest in improving digital literacy and AI-driven pedagogical training.”

The Education Minister cautioned that if unchecked, AI could produce “lazy and dishonest students,” stressing the need for ethical safeguards alongside digital literacy and AI-driven pedagogical training.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has said it is waiting for the Ministry of Education (MoE) to secure financial clearance for it to recruit 50,000 teachers and 10,000 non-teaching staff this academic year.

GES’s comment comes after the Education Minister addressed the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, saying adequate provisions have been made in the 2025 national budget for the mass recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff.

“Mr. Speaker, as I have assured this House, 50,000 teachers will be recruited, along with 10,000 non-teaching staff. Adequate provision was made for this in the 2025 budget,” Mr Haruna Iddrisu told Parliament on Wednesday.

The Education Minister said the impending recruitment of the 50,000 teachers and 10,000 non-teaching staff in the country forms part of President John Mahama’s administration’s efforts to strengthen the education sector.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu said the mass recruitment process would begin once the Finance Minister had given the clearance and the Auditor-General had completed a validation process to get rid of ghost names on teachers’ payroll.

The Head of Public Relations at Ghana Education Service (GES), Daniel Fenyi, in an exclusive interview, said the impending 2025 recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff will be free and transparent.

“Teachers and prospective applicants should expect a free, transparent, and open GES recruitment process this year,” the spokesperson for the GES said in the interview monitored by Pretertiary.com.