You Are Suffocating Educational Progress- Eduwatch tells Finance Minister

Africa Education Service (Eduwatch) has accused the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, of suffocating progress in the education sector with his delay in issuing clearance for the employment of teachers.

Citing a new report by School for Life and partners, the education think tank said that 68 per cent of teacher shortages are in rural areas.

Report showed that only one teacher manages the entire Jilma Primary in Chereponi, while in Bunkpurugu Nakpanduri, Central Gonja and Tatale Sanguli, teacher deficits on the average is 70 per cent at the kindergarten and primary levels.

“The situation is even worse in Central Gonja, where by June 2024, kindergarten teacher deficits stood at 86 per cent.”

With a teacher backlog of 71,000 awaiting recruitment, it questioned the intent of the delay in issuing financial clearance while the Ministry of Education’s 2025 budget made provision for about 28 billion cedis on salaries and related expenses, including teacher hiring.

“But each day of delay deepens learning poverty and forces more children, especially in Central Gonja and Chereponi, out of school. Already, 1.2 million children are out of school, many because there is no teacher in their community.”

It further revealed that with each day’s delay, and among other things, at least 36 pupils drop out of school daily in Ghana.

“The Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, must act now. His inaction is suffocating progress. Hiring teachers is not just creating jobs; It is more of restoring the right to education for Ghana’s excluded children…We can spend billions on workshops and learning materials, but without teachers, nothing will come out of nothing.”

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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