Ghana's Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has announced a roadmap to address the concerns of teacher unions, who have been on a nationwide strike since September 25. The strike, by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), has disrupted teaching and learning across the country. The minister's roadmap aims to address key concerns, including the implementation of a 20% Deprived Area Allowance and the renewal of the teachers' Collective Agreement.
The government has given the Ghana Education Service (GES) until October 5, 2026, to submit outstanding data on promoted teachers. This data will enable the Controller and Accountant-General's Department (CAGD) to process the salaries of affected teachers on their new grades. The minister said the GES Director-General had been directed to submit the outstanding information to the CAGD, with the exercise set to continue until 4 pm on October 5, 2026.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) is expected to meet the teacher unions on September 29 to continue negotiations on the Collective Agreement and other conditions of service. The previous agreement has expired, with its renewal forming part of the concerns raised by the unions. The minister said he had engaged in open and frank negotiations with the teacher unions and appealed to them to suspend the industrial action and return to the classroom while discussions continue.
On the 20% rural deprived allowance, the minister said the government has constituted a validation committee, chaired by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations. The committee will work with the teacher unions to validate the data required for implementation and develop a roadmap for the payment of the allowance. The government remains committed to commencing implementation in January 2027, subject to the completion of the validation process.
The minister said information covering up to 29,000 promoted teachers had so far been received for the payment of arrears. However, he explained that the September payroll had already been processed, meaning the new salary grades could not be reflected in September salaries. This means teachers whose data is successfully processed could have their new salary grades reflected from October, with any resulting supplementary payments to be handled by CAGD.
The government's roadmap follows the rejection by the three teacher unions of an earlier appeal to call off the strike. GNAT said after Monday's meeting that teachers would remain at home until they saw concrete action, including arrears reflected on their payslips and credited to their accounts. The unions have also demanded documented commitments on the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance rather than verbal assurances.
The nationwide strike by GNAT, NAGRAT, and PRETAG began on September 25 and has disrupted teaching and learning across the country, coming shortly after Ghana returned to the September-to-July academic calendar. The minister's roadmap aims to address the concerns of the teacher unions and bring an end to the strike, which has had a significant impact on the education sector.
Key points
- The government has set out timelines for negotiations on teachers' Collective Agreement and the implementation of the 20% Deprived Area Allowance.
- The GES has until October 5, 2026, to submit outstanding data on promoted teachers to enable the CAGD to process their salaries on new grades.
- The government remains committed to commencing implementation of the 20% rural deprived allowance in January 2027, subject to the completion of the validation process.
