BY Grace Zigah
The education sector could be heading towards another major crisis as former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum raises alarm over an estimated 30,000 classrooms without teachers, warning that the shortage could potentially affect nearly one million students.
The former minister said the situation requires urgent political intervention, arguing that the country cannot expect improved academic outcomes when thousands of classrooms may not have teachers to provide the instruction students need.
Dr Adutwum made the disclosure during an interview on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, where he linked the reported teacher shortage to broader concerns about the quality of education and the recent examination performance.
“We have 30,000 classrooms currently that don’t have teachers,” he said.
According to the former minister, the seriousness of the situation becomes clearer when the number of classrooms is translated into the number of students who could potentially be affected.
“You’re talking about close to a million students who could potentially be sitting in classrooms without a teacher,” he warned.
The revelation comes at a time when the government is already facing intense pressure over challenges within the education sector, including the controversial 2026 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), inadequate infrastructure and concerns about students’ performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
50,000 teachers requested, only 7,000 approved
Dr Adutwum further claimed that the current Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, had recognised the teacher shortage and taken steps to address it by requesting clearance for the recruitment of 50,000 teachers.
However, according to the former minister, the request was significantly reduced, with only 7,000 teachers reportedly receiving approval.
“The Minister of Education asked for 50,000 teacher clearance. They gave him 7,000,” Dr Adutwum stated.
He believes the huge gap between the number of teachers requested and those reportedly cleared could worsen an already difficult situation, particularly if the number of classrooms without teachers continues to increase.
“If the President doesn’t act quickly, we are going to be in trouble,” he cautioned.
His warning places the teacher recruitment question directly on the doorstep of the government, particularly at a time when the Mahama administration is publicly insisting that it is committed to fixing inherited challenges within Ghana’s education system.
From placement crisis to teacher shortage
The warning comes on the heels of the controversy surrounding the 2026 school placement exercise.
Thousands of parents and students have encountered difficulties with the CSSPS, prompting overcrowding at placement resolution centres and renewed debate over whether the policies and algorithms governing the system need to be reviewed.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu’s spokesperson has defended the administration’s handling of the placement difficulties, insisting that President John Mahama has not abandoned the minister and remains committed to supporting reforms in the education sector.
The government has maintained that it inherited significant challenges and is working to improve infrastructure, expand school capacity and make the placement process more transparent and efficient.
But Dr Adutwum’s latest warning suggests that infrastructure and placement are only part of the problem. Even where classrooms and school facilities are available, he argues, the absence of teachers could undermine the very purpose of those investments.
A classroom without a teacher, in his assessment, represents more than an infrastructure deficit. It is a potential threat to the quality of learning and, ultimately, to students’ academic performance.
WASSCE performance raises fresh concerns
Dr Adutwum’s warning also comes against the backdrop of concerns over Ghanaian students’ performance in the WASSCE, particularly in core subjects such as Mathematics.
He argued that the country cannot focus exclusively on examination results while ignoring the conditions under which students are taught.
For him, weaknesses in students’ academic performance should be detected much earlier in their educational journey. He believes students entering senior high school should be assessed properly so that teachers can identify learning gaps and intervene before those weaknesses become serious problems by the time the students sit the WASSCE.
The former minister’s argument is that waiting until students reach the final examination stage before addressing learning difficulties is too late.
The availability of qualified teachers, therefore, becomes an essential component of any serious strategy to improve examination outcomes.
“We cannot memorize our way out of poverty”
Dr Adutwum also connected Ghana’s education challenges to the country’s economic ambitions. He argued that education must be viewed not merely as a social service but as an investment in human capital and the country’s future economic productivity.
In his view, students need more than the ability to pass examinations. They must acquire practical knowledge and skills that can enable them to participate meaningfully in Ghana’s economic transformation.
He therefore called for greater emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), artificial intelligence and information technology, arguing that the young people must be prepared for an economy increasingly driven by technology and innovation.
“We cannot memorize our way out of poverty,” he declared.
