As many as 44 schools in the Ashanti Region do not have a single teacher, impacting negatively on the academic performance of the pupils and students.

The affected schools are scattered across nine districts in the regions.

The affected districts include Atwima Mponua, 17 schools; Amansie West, 12; Asante Akyem South, four; Adansi South, three; Asante Akyem North, two; Atwima Nwabiagya, one; and Ahafo Ano North, one.

Vacancies to be filled in the 44 schools plus vacancies in schools understaffed amount to 1,785.

However, the Ashanti Regional Directorate of Education has registered an excess staff of 8,288.

Consequently, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has blocked the names of 854 staff for being redundant.

The decision to block the staff came after the GES had conducted a special staff rationalisation exercise across the country to assess the staffing situation in all educational institutions.

The Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mr Kwabena Sarfo Katanka, who confirmed this to The Finder, said the regional directorate of education alone had an excess of 28 staff, who had since been deployed to the classrooms, with seven private senior high schools that have been absorbed into the public system being beneficiaries.

He said the Kumasi Metropolis alone had an excess staff population of 998, with 105 vacancies existing in the schools waiting to be filled.

According to the regional director, some schools in nine districts virtually have no teachers.

Mr Sarfo Katanka said the recommendations made by the special committee are strictly being followed to ensure fair and equitable distribution of staff, adding that because there had been an embargo on employment and recruitment of teachers, there is the need to ensure that excess staff were evenly distributed.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) have raised concerns over the rationalisation of staff and redeployment exercise being carried out by the GES.