Haruna Iddrisu has revealed that over 40,000 applicants applied through the teacher recruitment portal, competing for just 7,000 available positions.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of e-Learning Africa, the education minister explained that despite a clear shortage of teachers across the country, financial approval was granted to recruit only 7,000.
He stressed that selection will be strictly based on merit, with the most qualified candidates chosen from a large pool.
He also noted that the recruitment portal has been shut down to avoid overwhelming the system due to the high volume of applications.
“If resources were available, we should be recruiting up to 50,000 teachers across the country, but due to budgetary constraints, we are unable to do that. The Ministry of Education received clearance from the Ministry of Finance to recruit 7,000 teachers. In an open, transparent manner, it was advertised. The portal was shut down as soon as the number hit 40,000. The best 7,000 will be selected after careful assessment. We will do our best,” he said