Abstract

This paper is based on research done in the Central Region of Ghana and addresses some of the issues surrounding the posting of newly trained teachers. The research draws upon documents; interviews with members of the education bureaucracy; and interviews with 23 newly trained teachers posted largely to basic schools in rural areas. The paper illuminates the problems in posting newly trained teachers to rural schools. Furthermore it suggests that the education system is, in some ways, exacerbating these problems and that the education bureaucracy has a major influence on newly trained teachers' perspectives on the profession. This paper also includes an exploration of some positive aspects of the issue, such as some of the reasons why teachers accept difficult postings, and ways in which some parts of the education system are responding to the crisis.