The government has outlined a series of measures aimed at addressing the concerns raised by three striking teacher unions, following a meeting with the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, on Monday, September 28, 2026.
The meeting, which also involved officials from the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD), the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), and the Ghana Education Service (GES), was convened in an effort to end a nationwide strike that has disrupted teaching and learning in public schools across the country since Friday, September 25, 2026.
The striking unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG).
Measures Announced by Government
According to a statement issued by the Education Ministry, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is expected to meet the unions on Tuesday, October 6, to continue negotiations on their collective agreement and conditions of service.
A committee chaired by the Minister of Labour and Employment has also been set up to validate data on the government’s commitment to implement a 20% Deprived Area Allowance effective January 2027. The committee will include representation from the teacher unions and will work to develop a clear roadmap for the payment of the allowance.
In addition, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service has been directed to submit data on all promoted teachers to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department by the end of this week, with a final deadline of Monday, October 5, 2026, set for the completion of the exercise. The submission is expected to facilitate the payment of salaries and arrears owed to teachers promoted by October.
Background to the Strike
The nationwide strike was declared after months of unresolved tension over unpaid promotion arrears and stalled salary negotiations. The unions had demanded that all promoted teachers be placed on their new salary grades and paid outstanding arrears dating back to January 2026.
A key grievance is the delay in implementing the 20% Deprived Area Allowance, which the unions argue is an agreed condition of service under the 2024 Collective Agreement. The existing agreement has expired, and negotiations for a new one have stalled despite an earlier expectation that the process would have been completed by June 2026.
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, in a statement, has disclosed that it processed and paid all 6,079 teacher promotion cases submitted by the Ghana Education Service as of September 22, 2026, with the corresponding arrears included in the September 2026 salaries. However, the CAGD explained that documentation for the majority of the 58,620 teachers expected to benefit from the promotion exercise had not yet been submitted by GES.
Unions Insist on Concrete Action
Despite the measures announced by the government, the striking teacher unions have resolved not to call off their strike, stating that they will only return to the classroom after concrete steps are taken to address their concerns.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Isaac Baah, Head of Salaries, Grievances and Negotiations at GNAT, said the unions were no longer willing to accept verbal assurances from the government.
“Indeed, we met the minister and his team this afternoon with regard to our strike action. It has been the old story of promises upon promises,” he said. “At the moment, we are not taking promises. We want action”.
Mr Baah said teachers would remain off duty until the government demonstrated that it had fulfilled its commitments. “Our teachers must continue to stay home until we see something concrete,” he said. “Until we see the salary and the arrears reflecting on our payslips and credited to our accounts, until we see that, we are not going back to school”.
Adukwei Ayikwei Awuley, Vice President of PRETAG, also confirmed that the meeting had not produced any concrete agreement on the three major issues raised by the unions: the promotion of teachers, the 20% Deprived Area Allowance, and the collective agreement. He demanded written evidence to support the government’s assurance that the allowance would begin in January 2027.
“What has been put on paper to show that they will start paying the deprived area allowance by 2027? We want to see it. We want to see something documented,” he said.
NAGRAT President, Jacob Anaba, has also called for binding timelines, stating that the government’s commitments on the Collective Agreement, promotion-related payments, and the Deprived Area Allowance must be documented and signed before teachers return to the classroom. He noted that October 6 has been proposed for negotiations on the Collective Agreement, but said the timeline alone was not sufficient because the negotiations could take some time.
Impact on the Academic Calendar
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has expressed concern about the possible impact of the strike on the academic calendar, which has recently been restored to the September-to-July cycle. He appealed to the unions to suspend the strike and return to the classroom while negotiations continue, assuring them that the government was committed to addressing their grievances.
The government says the ongoing engagements are intended to create a pathway for resolving the outstanding issues and restoring normal academic activities. However, with the unions insisting on tangible action before returning to work, the disruption to teaching and learning in affected public schools is set to continue as negotiations remain ongoing.
