The government has reached an agreement with Ghana’s teacher unions to resolve concerns over the processing of promotions, averting a potential disruption to teaching and learning in pre-tertiary schools.
The agreement was reached after an emergency meeting between government representatives and the teacher unions, including the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Vocational and Technical Teachers Association of Ghana (VTAG).
The unions had threatened to lay down their tools over what they described as an unfair process requiring teachers who had passed promotion examinations to submit payslips and other documents at district and regional education offices before being placed on the appropriate salary scales.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, said the discussions had produced a positive outcome, with the unions agreeing to continue working.
“The outcome of the meeting has been positive and we can announce that the teacher unions have agreed to continue doing their work and that means that teaching and learning in our pre-tertiary institutions would continue,” he said.
Dr. Apaak said the concerns raised by the unions had been addressed, particularly the requirement for teachers to physically visit district and regional education offices to submit documentation before their promotions could be reflected on their salaries.
“The issues they raised have been sufficiently addressed and that is that teachers will no longer be required to go to district and regional education offices to provide payslips and other documentation as a prerequisite for being placed at the right salary scales based on the promotional exams that they wrote and passed.”
Under the agreement, teachers who passed the promotion examinations will have their placement backdated to January 2026.
“The agreement is that all teachers who wrote the promotion exams and passed will have a start date of January 2026.”
The government expects the resolution to benefit a significant number of teachers across the country, with Dr. Apaak estimating that nearly 80,000 teachers could have their salaries adjusted to reflect their promotions.
“It is our expectation that close to 80,000 teachers would be placed on the right salary scales and receive the expected salaries as per their promotions,” Dr Apaak said.
The development is expected to bring relief to teachers who have been waiting for their promotions to be properly reflected in their salaries, while also removing the immediate threat of industrial action that could have affected pre-tertiary education.
The agreement also shifts the process away from requiring affected teachers to make physical submissions at district and regional education offices, addressing one of the key grievances raised by the unions.
With the unions agreeing to remain at post, teaching and learning in pre-tertiary institutions are expected to continue without the disruption that a strike would have caused.
