The Ghana Education Service (GES) says paperwork for promoted teachers is largely done after unions suspended their strike on 9 October 2026, but one union has threatened fresh action.
Daniel Fenyi, the GES head of public relations, told GhanaWeb TV’s Lowdown show that about 60,000 promoted teachers did not see their new ranks reflected in their September salaries. He said the Service had finished documentation for one batch and was processing about 30,000 more. He said the Ministry of Education had ordered the papers to be ready within a week so the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department can adjust salaries. He expressed confidence that GES would meet the ministry’s 30 October deadline.
Fenyi called the teachers’ concerns legitimate. “If you touch them, you have touched the hearts of the next generation,” he said.
The timeline matters because the suspension is conditional. The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) said on 10 October that it would resume its strike if the government fails to start paying the 20 per cent deprived-area allowance in January 2027. NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba told Channel One TV’s The Big Issue that the allowance has been pending since 2009. He said it is vital to keeping teachers in remote communities, where many leave within a year or two.
NAGRAT, the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana suspended their two-week strike after talks with the Council of State and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission. They have told members to return to the classroom on Monday, 12 October.
The strike centred on three issues: salary adjustments and arrears for promoted teachers, the deprived-area allowance, and a new collective agreement to replace the one that expired in June 2026. Fenyi said talks between the unions and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission on the agreement would continue. He said consultations on the allowance are scheduled to run until January 2027.
Reported figures on the promotion payments differ. Earlier accounts of the deal said the first batch of arrears would go to about 51,000 teachers by 16 October, with the remainder due by the end of the month. Under the same commitments, a digital support allowance is to be paid in November and the continuous professional development allowance in December.
