The Controller and Accountant-General's Department in Ghana has announced that it is verifying promotion forms for 52,000 teachers, with the payment of long-delayed arrears targeted for October 15. This development comes as the national teachers' strike enters its third week. According to Controller and Accountant-General Kwasi Agyei, all required forms for the affected teachers were received by his department on October 8.
The payment process has now moved to the verification stage after the Ghana Education Service submitted the necessary promotion input forms and letters. Agyei's office is working through the documents to confirm which records qualify for payment. He stated that his department is verifying the forms and that whatever is verified and validated will be paid on or before October 15.
Records that cannot be cleared within the current exercise will be processed through a supplementary payroll, with adjustments reflected in affected teachers' salaries at a later date. This move is expected to bring relief to many teachers who have been owed money for work and rank changes that have gone unpaid for months or years.
The issue of delayed promotions and unpaid arrears has become one of the central grievances driving the ongoing industrial action by teacher unions, alongside concerns over conditions of service and deprived-area allowances. The National Association of Graduate Teachers, the Ghana National Association of Teachers, and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana have all cited delayed promotions and unpaid arrears among their core complaints.
The announcement comes as Ghana's teachers' strike stretches into its third week, disrupting classrooms nationwide ahead of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The Council of State has stepped in to mediate talks between the government and teacher unions, with the examination timeline adding urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.
The disruption has produced striking scenes in some communities, with a classroom in Kintampo overtaken by cattle due to the absence of teachers. The strike has affected learning on the ground, and there are concerns about the impact on students, particularly with the WASSCE exams approaching.
The validation exercise for the 52,000 teacher records is expected to be completed within the coming week, with payment targeted for October 15 or shortly before. The department has not detailed how long the supplementary payroll process would take for any records not cleared by that date, and no date has been given for when the broader teachers' strike itself might end.
Key points
- 52,000 Ghanaian teachers to receive promotion arrears by October 15.
- Payment of arrears is part of efforts to resolve the ongoing national teachers' strike.
- Strike has disrupted classrooms nationwide ahead of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
