A coalition of Teacher unions has threatened industrial action if the government fails to place newly promoted teachers on their appropriate salary by close of work on Monday, August 31, 2026.
According to the Unions, their action follows a directive from the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department that contradicts an earlier assurance by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to implement the automatic promotion system by August.
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Thomas Musah, described the directive as unlawful.
The GNAT General Secretary also called on the government to ensure that the affected teachers are placed on their new salary scales by the deadline.
He stressed that failure to meet the deadline could trigger industrial action, saying the unions would not be in a position to prevent teachers from taking action.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra on Thursday, August 27, General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Thomas Musah, stated, “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, as promised by the Ghana Education Service”.
“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.
Also, Jacob Anaba, the President of the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), has accused the GES of failing to provide teachers with detailed statistics on recent promotional examinations.
Jacob Anaba stated, “Over the years, when teachers write promotional exams and the results are released, we are given statistics of those that passed and those that failed; the number and the percentage.
We are also given another breakdown of the number of people that passed to Deputy Director, Assistant Director I, Assistant Director II, Principal Superintendent. This time, all that has not been done,” he said.
In other news, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, has said the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) are working in collaboration to improve the welfare, motivation and retention of teachers.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, the new measures are particularly for those in rural and deprived communities, adding that Teacher welfare is a national priority.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on July 2, 2026, Haruna Iddrisu said, “The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service, is implementing a number of targeted strategies to improve the welfare, motivation and retention of teachers across the country, particularly those posted to rural and underserved areas.”
“Teacher welfare is positioned as a national priority to strengthen their motivation, dignity and retention, and for long-term education outcome gains. As part of government efforts to attract, motivate and retain teachers in deprived and underserved communities, special incentives have been put in place for teachers who are self-posting to such areas,” he stated.
The Education Minister added, “I am happy to note that one of these incentives is a reduction in the number of years required to qualify for study leave. Originally, it was three years if you were in a deprived area. We have reduced it now to two years. So any person who is self-posting to a rural deprived area after two years of service can apply for study leave with pay”.
“We are also engaged in continuous education and capacity building of teachers across the country. In addition, the government is committed to rolling out a 20 per cent salary-related rural posting allowance for teachers serving in rural and deprived areas. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education are working on implementing that. A significant thing that affects the welfare of teachers is their shelter housing.”
Haruna Iddrisu added, “A significant thing that affects the welfare of teachers is their shelter housing. We are currently engaging in some discussion to deploy the Teacher Dabre Initiative of President Mahama, which was in the NDC manifesto, which will provide accommodation for teachers in rural areas to address the housing challenges that affect teacher deployment and retention in those areas”.
“Under this initiative, deliberate measures are being taken to ensure that the construction of new school facilities is accompanied by teacher accommodation. So this time we have directed that if contracts are awarded for school blocks, they must naturally include accommodation facilities for teachers,” he added.
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