A coalition of teacher unions has issued a deadline to the government over the delayed placement of newly promoted teachers on their appropriate salary scales, warning that failure to resolve the matter could trigger industrial action.
The unions want all teachers who completed the promotion process to be placed on their new grades and corresponding salary scales by the close of work on Monday, August 31, 2026.
They say the demand follows what they describe as conflicting directives from the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and the Ghana Education Service (GES) regarding the implementation of the promotions.
The unions maintain that GES had previously assured teachers that those who completed the promotional process would be placed on their new grades by August.
General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Thomas Musah, said the unions may be unable to prevent members from taking action if the deadline is missed.
He insisted that teachers who qualified for promotion must be automatically placed on the grades corresponding to their results.
“We, the teacher unions, we have no option than to make it clear that the automatic promotion of teachers or placement of teachers on the required grade as to where they should be on the promotion as of the results that came out, they should be put on their respective scales by close of work on Monday, 31st August, 2026,” he said.
Mr Musah also described the directive attributed to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department as unlawful.
He warned that if the issue is not resolved by the deadline, responsibility for any disruption to teaching and learning should rest with the heads of the agencies involved.
“Failure to do so, whatever happens thereafter, His Excellency should hold the agency heads there responsible. We, the teacher unions, we cannot restrain any teacher from that particular day,” he said.
Unions demand clarity over promotion process
Beyond the salary placement issue, the unions have raised concerns about the information provided by the Ghana Education Service on the outcome of the promotional examinations.
President of the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), Jacob Anaba, accused the GES of failing to provide sufficient data on the results of the process.
According to him, the Service has not released information showing the total number of teachers who took the examinations, how many passed or failed, or the percentage pass rate.
He said the lack of a detailed breakdown also makes it difficult to determine how successful candidates have been distributed across the various promotional grades.
These include positions such as Deputy Director, Assistant Director I, Assistant Director II and Principal Superintendent.
Mr Anaba noted that the situation differs from previous years, when teachers were provided with more detailed information about the outcome of the promotional exercise.
With the August 31 deadline approaching, the unions are demanding urgent action from the relevant government agencies to ensure that qualified teachers receive their correct grades and salary placements.
