Ghana Faces "Severe" Education Crisis as 30,000 Classrooms Lack Teachers

 

Ghana's basic education system is in a state of severe strain, with approximately 30,000 classrooms across the country currently operating without teachers, a prominent education policy analyst has revealed.

The alarming disclosure was made by Kofi Asare, Executive Director of the education think tank Africa Education Watch, during a televised assessment of President John Dramani Mahama's one-year performance on Channel One TV on Tuesday, January 13.

Asare attributed the critical shortage directly to the government's failure to recruit any new teachers into the public system in 2025. This halt in recruitment, he warned, has had a devastating domino effect on the quality of basic education.

"The lack of recruitment has had a direct impact on basic education, leaving many pupils without proper instruction and increasing the risk of school dropouts," Asare stated.

He explained that the sector has a recurring annual need for at least 15,000 new teachers to maintain a functional balance. This figure accounts for both the poor geographical distribution of teaching staff and natural annual attrition due to retirement, resignation, or other causes. The complete absence of new hires last year has exponentially worsened an already precarious situation.

"As a result, we now have not less than 30,000 classrooms without teachers, and the number could be higher," Asare emphasized.

A Gap Undermining the Future

The chronic teacher deficit poses a fundamental threat to teaching and learning outcomes nationwide. Classrooms without teachers not only halt academic progress but also contribute to overcrowding in other classes where instructors are present, diminishing the quality of attention each student receives.

Education advocates fear the crisis will exacerbate learning poverty, widen educational inequalities, and lead to a surge in dropout rates, particularly in underserved and rural communities where the staffing gaps are often most acute.

The revelation has sparked urgent calls from civil society for the government to address what is being termed a "generational crisis." Stakeholders are demanding immediate action, including a major, targeted recruitment drive for 2026, to stem the tide and prevent further erosion of Ghana's educational foundations.

The Ministry of Education is yet to issue an official response to these specific figures or outline a concrete plan to resolve the staggering teacher shortage.