President John Dramani Mahama has endorsed the decentralization of education management in Ghana to improve productivity and address local challenges in the sector.

He explained that empowering leaders at the district level will improve school management nationwide.

Speaking at the Jubilee House on Friday June 6, 2025, the president said a decentralized education regime will help locals connect with education in their communities.

“Local governments, district education offices, school boards and community leaders must be given greater authority, flexibility and accountability in managing our schools. Centralized decision-making has led to delays, inefficiencies and disconnection from the local realities.

“Decentralization will not only improve service delivery but also restore a sense of ownership and urgency at the grassroot level,” he averred.

He wondered how the Ghana Education Service could run a remote school several miles away from the capital, efficiently and effectively.

The president was convinced that the centralized arrangement “doesn’t make sense”.

“We must give greater autonomy to the District Directors [of Education] and make them autonomous to run the schools,” the president stressed.

Explaining the benefits of a decentralized education system, President Mahama said prevailing sector issues including teacher absenteeism could be effectively monitored at the local level.

The president also called for recruitments to be made at the district offices where the authorities had a clearer understanding of what was required.

He called for an end to untargetted mass postings of teachers to improve district education in Ghana.