A new agreement between Ghana and Jamaica will see Ghanaian-trained nurses and teachers deployed to the Caribbean island for employment, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced over the weekend.
The bilateral arrangement, first disclosed after a meeting with Jamaican Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Summit in Brussels, is expected to provide new job opportunities for Ghanaian professionals who have been unemployed since completing national service. The partnership will also address shortages in Jamaica’s healthcare and education sectors.
Ghana and Jamaica have signed a bilateral agreement to deploy Ghanaian nurses and teachers to Jamaica, aiming to address staffing shortages in Jamaica’s health and education sectors. This collaboration is part of Ghana’s strategy to provide employment opportunities for its…
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“Jamaica is ready to receive nurses and teachers from Ghana under a special bilateral partnership,” Ablakwa said.
The minister emphasized that the move would not only ease unemployment in Ghana but also expose the professionals to better working conditions abroad. He noted that the cooperation stems from the long-standing historical ties between the two countries, and that both governments have agreed to expand collaboration in several other areas.
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“Ghana and Jamaica are also expected to hold high-level political consultations to deepen our cooperation in trade, education, agribusiness, tourism, cultural and sports exchange,” Ablakwa said.
While the recent agreement is being positioned as a win-win for both countries, concerns about Jamaica’s growing reliance on overseas teachers have been raised in the past. In 2024, then Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Leighton Johnson voiced strong concerns about the country’s plan to recruit foreign educators. He acknowledged that while bringing in overseas teachers may help address the current shortage, it also highlights deeper issues within Jamaica’s education system.
“It is a sad day for the country when we must once again resort to foreign teachers to fill roles that our own qualified and capable educators should occupy,” Johnson said earlier this year. He cited teacher migration and low morale as symptoms of systemic challenges, calling for urgent reforms in salaries, working conditions, and incentives to retain local talent.
Despite the criticism, both Ghana and Jamaica appear committed to moving forward with the initiative as part of broader efforts to strengthen South-South cooperation and unlock mutual economic opportunities.
The deployment timeline and number of professionals to be sent are yet to be formally announced.