Education policy think tank Africa Education Watch has raised concerns over what it describes as a persistent imbalance in Ghana’s teacher deployment system, warning that many rural schools remain understaffed despite an apparent national surplus of teachers.
Speaking at a press briefing, the organisation’s Executive Director, Kofi Asare, pointed to ongoing inefficiencies in how teachers are distributed across the country.
He explained that while Ghana appears to have enough teachers overall, shortages continue to affect many rural districts, particularly at the basic education level.
“Ghana has about 15,000 more teachers than needed to meet the teacher-to-pupil ratio at the primary level,” he said. “However, the situation is different at the junior high school level, where shortages still exist, especially in STEM subjects.”
Mr Asare stressed that the core issue is not recruitment but distribution, noting that teachers are heavily concentrated in urban areas while rural communities are left underserved.
According to him, around 30,000 classrooms remain without teachers due to these disparities, with excess staff largely found in regional capitals, metropolitan areas, and urban municipalities.
He also highlighted stark inequalities in northern Ghana, where some districts have surplus teachers while others struggle to staff even basic classrooms.
“In some districts, about 20 per cent of primary schools are run by just one teacher,” he said, warning that such conditions significantly affect the quality of teaching and learning.
Africa Education Watch is calling for targeted policy interventions to address the imbalance, particularly by improving teacher allocation to rural and underserved areas.
The organisation believes its findings should guide ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening efficiency and equity in Ghana’s education system, as the country continues efforts to expand access and improve learning outcomes.