The Ghanaian government's efforts to end the teachers' strike have taken a significant step forward with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu's announcement of an October 30 deadline to resolve the issues driving the industrial action. The strike, which began on September 25, has disrupted teaching and learning in public schools across the country. Iddrisu has pledged to place all promoted teachers on new grades by the deadline, provided the unions agree to suspend the strike.
According to Iddrisu, the Controller and Accountant-General's Department is currently validating data covering approximately 51,000 teachers to enable payment of promotion arrears. Teachers whose records have been verified will receive a supplementary payment schedule, while the rest will see their new grades and arrears reflected in their October salaries. The minister assured that the government will honour its commitment to the new grades for all promoted teachers on or before October 30.
A separate committee has been established to validate who qualifies for the proposed 20% deprived-area allowance, a long-standing manifesto commitment. The committee, which brings together representatives of the teacher unions and the Ghana Statistical Service, has been tasked with developing a roadmap for rolling out the allowance. One of the key challenges is determining what constitutes a "deprived" or "rural deprived" area and which categories of teachers posted there should benefit.
The nationwide action by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) has disrupted teaching and learning in public schools across the country. The strike has coincided with separate agitation in the tertiary sector, after lecturers at technical universities nationwide downed tools over unpaid allowances.
For parents and pupils, the practical stakes are straightforward: until the strike ends, public school classrooms across the country remain without regular instruction, a disruption that has already stretched into weeks. The October 30 deadline determines whether promotion arrears and new grade placements — some tied to the records of about 51,000 teachers — finally show up in their pay packets, either through a supplementary schedule or in their October salaries.
Iddrisu said he would use the government's commitments to persuade teachers to suspend their action from the Monday following the meeting, though the unions had not issued a formal response confirming whether they would comply. Negotiations are also continuing on the unions' expired conditions of service. No date has been given for when the deprived-area allowance committee will complete its work or when the allowance itself might take effect.
Key points
- The Ghanaian government has set an October 30 deadline to end the nationwide teachers' strike, with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu pledging to place all promoted teachers on new grades.
- A committee has been established to validate who qualifies for the proposed 20% deprived-area allowance, a long-standing manifesto commitment.
- The strike, which began on September 25, has disrupted teaching and learning in public schools across the country, with practical stakes high for parents and pupils.
