Ghana’s three major pre tertiary teacher unions have rejected Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu’s appeal for them to return to the classroom, insisting that their nationwide industrial action will continue until the government demonstrates tangible progress on their outstanding demands.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers, the National Association of Graduate Teachers and the Pre Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana maintained their position after meeting the Education Minister and other government officials on Monday, September 28, as efforts intensified to resolve the dispute and restore teaching and learning in public schools across the country.
The unions said the discussions had not produced sufficiently new commitments to persuade them to suspend the strike, arguing that many of the assurances presented during the engagement were similar to promises they had received during earlier negotiations.
GNAT Head of Salaries, Grievances and Negotiations Isaac Baah said the unions had reached a point where verbal assurances were no longer enough and that teachers wanted evidence that government commitments were being implemented.
He said teachers would remain away from their classrooms until outstanding salaries and arrears were reflected on their payslips and subsequently credited to their bank accounts.
The unions have placed particular emphasis on the government’s commitment to introduce the 20 percent Deprived Area Allowance from January 2027. Mr Baah questioned what documentary evidence existed to demonstrate that the implementation process had formally commenced.
For the unions, he explained, an undertaking to begin payment in 2027 must be accompanied by a written timetable and verifiable evidence showing how and when the commitment will be fulfilled.
The disagreement comes at a time when the government has presented a roadmap intended to address the concerns underpinning the industrial action. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu said government remained committed to resolving the issues and urged the unions to suspend the strike while negotiations continued.
Mr Iddrisu said the government had proposed fresh negotiations on the expired Collective Agreement, a validation exercise for the Deprived Area Allowance and further processing of data concerning teachers who successfully completed promotion examinations.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is expected to continue discussions with the unions on the Collective Agreement, while the Ghana Education Service has been given a deadline to submit additional information required by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department for the processing of outstanding promotion related payments.
The Collective Agreement remains one of the central points of contention. The previous agreement expired in June 2026, while negotiations for a replacement agreement have not yet been concluded.
According to the unions, the delay has affected allowances and other employment related provisions that should have been addressed under the new agreement. They are demanding a clear timetable for completing the negotiations rather than another open ended process.
The unions are also pressing for the automatic placement of teachers who successfully passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 onto their appropriate salary scales, together with the payment of arrears dating back to January 2026.
The government has, however, indicated that steps are being taken to address the promotion related concerns. The Education Minister said the September payroll had already been processed and that the Controller and Accountant General’s Department would work on the relevant adjustments for October, with supplementary payments to be made where necessary.
Government officials have also indicated that additional data from the Ghana Education Service is required before the Controller and Accountant General’s Department can complete the processing of outstanding promotion arrears.
The government’s position on the Deprived Area Allowance is similarly tied to a validation exercise. Mr Iddrisu said a committee had been established to verify the data relating to schools and communities that qualify for the allowance, with the government maintaining its commitment to begin implementation in January 2027 once the validation process is completed.
The unions, however, want the commitment placed on record. Mr Baah indicated that a written timetable showing when the Collective Agreement negotiations would be concluded could potentially be taken back to teachers for consideration.
He explained that if government provided a firm and acceptable schedule, such as a commitment to complete negotiations by the middle or end of October, the unions could present that document to their members and allow them to determine whether the circumstances justified a return to the classroom.
The disagreement has now placed the government and the teacher unions at a critical point, with both sides acknowledging the need for negotiations but differing over what should happen before teachers resume work.
For the government, the immediate concern extends beyond the industrial dispute to the preservation of Ghana’s academic calendar. Mr Iddrisu appealed to the unions to consider the effect of the strike on pupils and students, particularly because the country has only recently returned to the September to July academic cycle following previous disruptions.
The Education Minister said maintaining the restored academic calendar was important for students moving through the education system, including those transitioning from secondary school into tertiary institutions.
The nationwide strike began on Friday, September 25, after the unions’ September 24 deadline for government to resolve their concerns passed without a settlement. The action has subsequently disrupted teaching and learning in public pre tertiary schools across the country.
The dispute brings together several institutions and stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the three teacher unions.
The government has continued to appeal for dialogue, while the unions have maintained that dialogue must now produce measurable outcomes rather than another cycle of assurances.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is expected to continue discussions with the unions as the government seeks to establish timelines for resolving the Collective Agreement dispute and other outstanding conditions of service.
The immediate issue, therefore, is no longer simply whether negotiations will continue. The central question is whether the government can provide the written commitments and concrete implementation measures the unions say they require before asking teachers to resume teaching.
Until that happens, GNAT, NAGRAT and PRETAG have made their position clear: teachers are to remain away from the classroom while the outstanding issues surrounding promotion placements, salary arrears, the Collective Agreement and the Deprived Area Allowance remain unresolved.
