Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has assured teachers that the government will pay outstanding promotion arrears by October 30, as pressure mounts over unpaid obligations in the pre-tertiary education sector.
The Minister said government was fully aware of its responsibilities towards teachers and had accepted the need to settle the arrears owed to them.
Speaking at a two-day symposium and exhibition organised by the National Teaching Council (NTC) at the GNAT Hall in Accra, Haruna Iddrisu said the government would honour its financial commitments to teachers.
According to him, the payment of promotion arrears was a responsibility that government could not avoid.
“The government has accepted that I am responsible for honouring my obligations as an employer to all teachers. And we have accepted that we will pay their arrears. We will honour them,” the Minister stated.
He went further to give a specific deadline for the payment, declaring that if the arrears remained unpaid by October 30, he would consider himself to have failed in his commitment.
“If by October 30, your promotion arrears are not paid, then I will have no honour,” he said.
The comments come at a time when teachers across the country are demanding action over outstanding payments.
The Pre-Tertiary Education Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) announced a nationwide strike on September 25 to push government to settle arrears owed to their members.
The unions have expressed frustration over delays in the payment of the outstanding amounts and have called for concrete measures to resolve the issue.
The Education Minister’s October 30 deadline is therefore expected to be closely watched by teachers and their unions as they await the fulfilment of the government’s promise.
