By Francis Kobena Tandoh
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu says government expects to process the first tranche of outstanding salary arrears for teachers by October 16, 2026, following the validation of teachers’ records.
Mr. Iddrisu gave the assurance when he visited the data processing centre where the records of the affected Ghana Education Service (GES) staff are being validated to pave the way for payments to eligible teachers.
He said officials are expected to complete validation of at least 51,000 teachers’ records by October 5, after which the verified data will be submitted to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department to facilitate supplementary payments.
Mr. Iddrisu also reiterated government’s commitment to placing promoted teachers on their new salary grades by October 30, describing any failure to meet the deadline as “inexcusable.”
The announcement comes amid an ongoing strike by pre-tertiary teacher unions over outstanding arrears, promotions and conditions of service.
According to him, once the validated data is submitted, the Ministry of Finance will be directed to begin arrangements for the first tranche of the outstanding payments. The initial payment is expected to be processed by October 16.
He urged officials overseeing the exercise to work swiftly and accurately, emphasising that the validation process is essential to ensuring eligible teachers receive their outstanding payments.
The Minister said the government could best fulfil its commitment by ensuring that 52,000 of the 80,000 records are validated, and called on the Controller and Accountant-General to expedite the process.
Pre-tertiary teacher unions; including the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) declared a nationwide strike on September 25 over non-renewal of their collective agreement, failure on the government to place promoted teachers onto their various salary scales with arrears, and the failure to implement the 20 percent deprived area allowance. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
