The Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, has officially addressed growing concerns surrounding the mass recruitment of graduate teachers into the Ghana Education Service (GES) during the latter part of 2024. His comments come in the wake of a controversial revocation of thousands of appointments and a validation directive issued by GES to streamline its payroll system.
Background
The Ghana Education Service (GES), acting on a directive from the Chief of Staff and a letter from the Office of the President dated February 10, 2025, has revoked all appointments and recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff who had not been added to the government payroll as of that date.
The Acting Director-General of GES, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, confirmed the directive through an official statement released on February 17, 2025. He instructed all Regional, District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Directors of Education to enforce the order immediately, impacting thousands of new hires across the country.
Who Is Affected?
This revocation affects:
- Newly Recruited Staff: Those who received appointment letters but were not yet placed on the government payroll.
- Pending Recruitment Cases: Individuals whose recruitment processes were ongoing but not finalized.
- GES Directors: Regional and district heads tasked with implementing and monitoring compliance with the directive.
The affected staff now face a period of uncertainty, as their appointments are no longer valid unless confirmed by subsequent verification exercises.
GES Initiates Validation Process
Following the revocation, GES announced a mandatory validation exercise aimed at auditing and verifying all affected personnel. In a letter dated March 5, 2025, the GES management directed staff whose appointments had been revoked to undergo validation by March 14, 2025.
To oversee this process, GES established three-member regional committees comprising:
- The Regional Human Resource Officer
- The Regional Internal Auditor
- The Regional Accountant
Affected individuals are required to present the following documents:
- Appointment Letter
- Academic Certificate
- Licensure Certificate
- National Service Certificate
GES emphasized that the validation is essential for maintaining a clean and transparent payroll and ensuring only qualified and properly recruited individuals remain within the system.
Minister Haruna Iddrisu Responds to Concerns
Amid public backlash and picketing by some affected graduate teachers, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu addressed the issue directly at the Ministry of Education forecourt. He acknowledged the distress caused but clarified that the recruitment of up to 39,000 individuals was done without the necessary financial clearance.
According to the Minister, the government may only be able to absorb 9,000 to 12,000 of the recruits, depending on the outcome of the ongoing audit and budgetary constraints.
“Of the 39,000, probably, government may be able to absorb 9,000, 11,000 or 12,000 but certainly not 39,000. So whoever misled you… that recruitment was not approved legitimately,” he explained.
He urged the affected graduates to remain calm and allow the validation process to conclude, promising that only eligible and budget-appropriate appointments would be honoured moving forward.
What Next for Affected Staff?
While the revocation remains in force, GES has assured all affected individuals that further updates will be communicated. Those impacted are strongly encouraged to complete the validation process to retain any chance of formal absorption into the system.
The situation highlights the importance of proper procedures and transparency in public sector recruitment, especially in critical sectors like education.
GES advises all affected persons to stay in close contact with their respective regional education offices for guidance and to monitor official communication for any new developments.
Published By: Justice Donkoh | GESHub.org
