Bahamas government urged to release details of Ghana teacher recruitment agreement

The Bahamas government is facing calls to make public the details of an agreement with Ghana to recruit 300 teachers amid concerns from the opposition and the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) over transparency and the treatment of local educators.

The main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) has called on the government to disclose the terms of the agreement, including salaries, recruitment procedures, costs and the duration of the arrangement.

The agreement was announced by Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who said the deployment of teachers was negotiated during his visit to The Bahamas for the country’s 53rd Independence Anniversary celebrations.

“This will be the first phase of a new cooperation in education,” Ablakwa said in a statement shared on Facebook.

Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Chester Cooper described Ghana’s offer as a “generous offer of cooperation” as the country’s education system faces a shortage of about 300 teachers.

Cooper confirmed that officials held discussions with Ablakwa during the Independence celebrations but stressed that Bahamian educators would be given first priority for available positions.

He said the teacher shortage has been worsened by retirements, contract expirations and growing demand in specialized areas, including special education, technology, financial literacy, digital literacy and entrepreneurship studies.

To address the shortage, Cooper said the government established a multi-agency task force involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Service, Department of Labour, Royal Bahamas Police Force and the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of The Bahamas.

The task force is also working to attract Bahamian educators, including retired teachers, recent graduates and former teachers interested in returning to the profession.

However, FNM Shadow Minister of Education Shanendon Cartwright said the government must provide more information about the agreement.

“The Bahamian people deserve answers,” Cartwright said.

He questioned the scope of the agreement, including which subjects and islands would receive the teachers, the length of the contracts, qualification requirements, vetting processes and whether the recruits would meet standards set by the Ministry of Education and the Bahamas Union of Teachers.

Cartwright also raised questions about the financial impact of the agreement, including costs associated with salaries, travel, housing and work permits, and whether hiring foreign teachers would be more cost-effective than training and employing Bahamian educators.

“Vague statements and social media posts are not enough,” he said. “The Minister of Education must come to the public with a full disclosure. We call for respect for Bahamian teachers. It starts with transparency.”

BUT President Belinda Wilson also criticized the government’s handling of the recruitment effort, saying the union learned about the agreement through the Ghanaian official rather than through local discussions.

Wilson questioned how quickly the government was able to negotiate the recruitment of foreign teachers while salary negotiations with Bahamian teachers have continued for nearly a year without resolution.

“This is egregious and highly offensive to the hard-working, dedicated teachers of The Bahamas,” Wilson said.

She also accused the government of failing to address outstanding issues affecting local educators, including unpaid benefits such as rent allowances. Wilson said some graduates from the University of The Bahamas’ 2025 class are still waiting to be hired by the Ministry of Education.

“All we get are excuses,” she said.