Shortfall of teachers continue to plague schools

Shortfall in the number of professionally-trained classroom teachers continues to remain a challenge across the country.

Mr. Charles Aheto Tsegah, Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), noted that only about 26.9 percent of declared vacancies in basic schools could be filled by the Colleges of Education this academic year.

He was opening the 38th annual national workshop for Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) Officers in Kumasi.

The three-day meeting was aimed at helping the participants to have a clear and better understanding of the guidelines for posting of newly trained teachers.

It also provided the platform to discuss ways of ensuring equity in their posting to the schools.

Mr. Tsegah said the expectation was that by September this year, the population of basic school teachers at post would hit 151,545, representing 86.4 per cent.

He asked the posting officers to make sure that the teachers were sent to where their services were most needed. He expressed concern about the attitude of some teachers who refuse to accept posting to some districts and schools and said this must end.

Mr. Samuel Manteaw, Director of the HRMD Division, said priority would be given to schools in the deprived areas. Mr. Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Education Director, counseled that the newly trained teachers should be posted to the districts that sponsored them.**