• A new Teachers for All report says about 20% of districts in Ghana face severe teacher shortages, with rural schools the worst affected.

• The study links unequal teacher deployment to overcrowded classrooms and poor literacy and numeracy outcomes.

• It calls for data-driven teacher allocation, stronger rural incentives and targeted support for female teachers to improve education quality.

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The Teachers for All (T4A) Ghana Report, launched by the Ministry of Education with support from UNICEF, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other partners, warns that persistent inequities in teacher deployment are contributing to poor learning outcomes, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

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According to the report, approximately 20% of districts have severe teacher shortages, with average pupil-to-teacher ratios exceeding the Ministry of Education’s target of 35 pupils to one teacher. The shortages are most acute in the North-East Region, where there are 48 pupils for every teacher, followed by Savannah with 41:1 and the Northern Region with 39:1.

The study also found that rural schools face the greatest shortage of female teachers, a challenge that has implications for girls’ education and gender equality. Women teachers deployed to rural areas often contend with safety concerns, limited transport, and inadequate hygiene and sanitation facilities.

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Despite Ghana recording gross enrolment rates of 99.6% at the primary level and 98.4% at the junior high school level during the 2022/23 academic year, learning outcomes remain a concern. The report cites the 2024 National Standardised Test, which found that 45.27% of pupils performed below basic proficiency in Mathematics, while 50.33% fell below basic proficiency in English.

The report argues that overcrowded classrooms caused by teacher shortages are contributing to weaker literacy and numeracy outcomes.

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To address the challenge, the study recommends using detailed data to guide teacher deployment, prioritising schools with the most severe shortages, strengthening incentives to attract and retain teachers in difficult-to-staff communities, and introducing targeted measures to support female teachers through family-friendly policies, leadership opportunities and stronger protection against discrimination and gender-based violence.

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The report also notes that improving teacher deployment is essential for ensuring value for money, given that about 84% of the Ministry of Education’s 2026 budget is allocated to teacher compensation. It concludes that deploying teachers more equitably would help reduce class sizes, improve learning outcomes and ensure every child has access to quality education, regardless of where they live.