More than five (5) Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have expressed worry over the excessive politicization of teacher recruitment which has resulted in limited spaces for teaching appointments.
The concerns come on the back of what the CSOs believe is the government’s neglect of basic education schools which has resulted in many challenges.
The CSOs have noted that the move has several implications including affecting the equitable distribution of teachers at the district levels.
Joyce Larnyo, spokesperson for the societies lamented how politically exposed teachers receive their appointment letters before the Ghana Education Service (GES) deployment.
“The public claim by MPs about the role they played in securing appointment letters for teachers who are political party agents suggests that political factors rather than the demand for teachers may have influenced to a higher extent, the 2023 limited teachers recruitments.
“This politicized deployment of teachers has negative implications for teachers’ management and equitable distribution of teachers, especially in districts where MPs are not from the ruling government.”
These concerns come barely 24 hours after some ten civil society organizations cast a damning verdict on Ghana’s basic education system.
The organizations in a document titled “Memorandum of Issues in the Basic Education Sector” complained about a myriad of problems including over-overcrowding in some schools.
The organizations also condemned the decision of the government to replace textbooks with laptops in the face of pertinent issues confronting education in Ghana.
“Government’s plan to procure 1.3 million laptops to replace textbooks in Senior High Schools across the country does not represent efficient and prioritised use of public funds in the face of a heavily underfunded basic education sub-sector”.