The National Teaching Council has revealed that more than 42,000 teachers currently teaching in Ghana’s basic and senior high schools do not possess professional teaching qualifications.
According to the Council’s 2026 data, over 30,000 unqualified teachers are teaching at the basic school level, while 12,279 are serving in Senior High Schools across the country.
The disclosure has renewed concerns about the quality of education, teacher professionalism, and the enforcement of recruitment standards within Ghana’s education sector.
Speaking on Ahotor FM’s morning programme, Adekyee Mu Nsem, on May 15, 2026, David Akpalo expressed concern over the growing number of unqualified individuals teaching in classrooms despite the availability of trained but unemployed teachers.
“We are aware that these unqualified teachers are in our classrooms, yet everyone appears unconcerned. Ghana is perhaps the only country where qualified teachers remain at home while unqualified people teach in our schools,” he stated.
Mr. Akpalo questioned the recruitment processes that allowed unqualified persons into the education system, insisting that Ghana has enough professionally trained teachers capable of filling vacancies.
“It is not as if Ghana lacks qualified teachers. We have trained teachers across the country, so who should be blamed for this situation?” he asked.
He further accused politicians of contributing to the problem by influencing recruitment processes in favour of unqualified individuals rather than professionally trained teachers.
Mr. Akpalo also criticised sections of the media for not giving enough attention to the issue, while commending Ahotor FM for highlighting what he described as a major national concern.
According to him, many policymakers are not directly affected because their children do not attend public schools.
He further argued that Ghana already has a legal and professional framework governing teacher recruitment and standards, but enforcement remains weak.
He therefore called on authorities to strictly enforce existing regulations to improve teacher professionalism and ensure quality education delivery across the country

