The Ghana Education Service (GES) has revoked the appointments of all newly recruited teaching and non-teaching staff who have not yet been placed on the government payroll.
This follows a directive from the Chief of Staff, as communicated in a letter from the Office of the President dated February 10, 2025.
A circular issued by the Acting Director-General of GES, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, on February 17, 2025, instructed all Regional, District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Directors of Education to enforce the decision with immediate effect.
The directive affects individuals recently recruited into the education sector but not yet receiving salaries from the government payroll system.
It is currently unclear how many staff members are impacted, but the move is expected to have significant implications for both teachers and administrative personnel across the country.
The GES has assured stakeholders that further directives will be issued when necessary.
The revocation comes amid concerns about the government’s financial constraints and efforts to manage the public wage bill.
Chief of Staff Julius Debrah issued a directive revoking all appointments and recruitments made into public service establishments after December 7, 2024.
In the directive, Mr. Debrah requested all heads of government institutions to take the necessary steps to annul these appointments and recruitments into public offices.
The move, according to the Chief of Staff, was consistent with the government’s stance on near-end-of-tenure appointments and recruitments, which were deemed non-compliant with established good governance practices and principles.
A comprehensive report on the actions taken is expected to be submitted to the Office of the Chief of Staff by February 17, 2025.
A source within government circles said the directive underscored the government’s commitment to upholding good governance practices and ensuring that all appointments and recruitments were made in accordance with established principles.
The country’s governance space is not new to such government actions when power changes hands.
In 2017, the government of then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo revoked the appointments of several staff members in public service units, which were considered late recruitments.
Those revoked recruitments included regional directors of the National Service Authority.
