The Controller and Accountant General’s Department has received promotion input forms covering approximately 52,000 teachers, clearing an important stage in the verification process required before their salary adjustments and outstanding promotion arrears can be paid.
Controller and Accountant General Kwasi Agyei disclosed on Thursday, October 8, that the Ghana Education Service had completed the submission of the required documents following the processing of the affected teachers’ promotions on the government payroll system.
He said officials of his department were now examining the promotion input forms alongside the teachers’ promotion letters to establish which records had successfully passed verification and validation.
Mr Agyei indicated that the validation exercise was expected to be completed by the following week, after which payments would be processed for teachers whose records had been cleared.
The development follows an earlier government commitment to address delayed promotion placements and outstanding arrears affecting thousands of teachers.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu had directed the Ghana Education Service to provide comprehensive information on promoted teachers to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department as part of efforts to facilitate the payment process. Earlier government estimates placed the number of affected teachers at more than 51,000, while the Ghana Education Service had indicated that the figure could reach between 51,000 and 52,000.
The latest submission therefore represents a significant administrative step towards settling the outstanding obligations.
Mr Agyei said teachers whose promotion records are successfully verified and validated are expected to receive the relevant payments around October 15 or, at the latest, October 16.
He further explained that any promotion cases not captured in the current payroll exercise would be handled through a supplementary payroll process and subsequently reflected in the affected teachers’ salaries.
The dispute over promotion arrears has been one of the major concerns raised by the National Association of Graduate Teachers, the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the Pre Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana during their industrial action.
The teacher unions have repeatedly demanded the prompt placement of promoted teachers on their appropriate salary grades and payment of outstanding financial obligations.
The government has previously pledged that all promoted teachers would be placed on their new grades before the end of October.
The completion of the latest data submission therefore provides a basis for the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to intensify the validation process and determine which teachers are immediately eligible for payment.
