Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, has begged striking teacher unions to return to the classroom as government engages their leadership to address their concerns.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, the striking teacher unions must go back to the classrooms to protect the school calendar, which has only recently returned to the September-to-July cycle.
He urged the teacher unions to return to the classroom as he engages their leadership alongside the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Haruna Iddrisu stated, “I extend a warm welcome to the leadership of our various teacher unions who have publicly and justifiably declared a strike action”.
“But to use this opportunity as their employer to persuade them to keep the academic calendar smooth sailing and smooth running whilst we look into the merits of their legitimate issues and concerns,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Education Minister’s meeting with the striking teacher unions is currently underway at the Ministry of Education.
The development follows three main associations of teachers, namely the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), declaring a nationwide industrial action effective Friday, September 25, 2026.
The teacher unions declared that the immediate strike action follows unresolved concerns about their conditions of service, promotion and deprived-area allowance.
At a press briefing in Accra on Friday, September 25, the unions directed all pre-tertiary teachers to lay down their tools and leave the classroom until further notice.
King Ali Awudu, President of PRETAG, disclosed that the unions’ conditions of service expired in June, with efforts to negotiate a new agreement since last year yielding no results.
He stated, “You will recall that we have once engaged the media and informed you that our conditions of service have expired since June. All efforts to get a new one negotiated since last year have yielded no fruits”.
The unions also expressed their dissatisfaction with a proposed 10% increase in the digital allowance, which currently stands at GH¢800 per year.
They further noted that agreement to automatically place about 80,000 teachers who sat for aptitude tests in December 2025 and February 2026 on the appropriate salary scale had also not been implemented.
Mr Awudu also stressed that the deprived-area allowance has still not been resolved since 2009.
The union argued that the commitment to introduce a 20% allowance for teachers in deprived areas has yet to be implemented.
“We are asking all teachers that with immediate effect, as soon as this information goes out, they should put all their tools down, leave the classroom, go home and have a very good rest and wait until they hear from leadership again,” he said.
Also, the spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Hashmin Mohammed, has appealed to the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) to call off their strike as government works to address their concerns.
Hashmin Mohammed disclosed that the government had made significant progress in addressing the concerns raised by the unions.
According to the Education Ministry, the three teacher unions’ strike could undermine efforts to restore the academic calendar, which now sees KG through primary, Junior High School, Senior High School, and then university return to school in September.
Speaking to Citi News, Spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Hashmin Mohammed stated, “It took this government a lot of effort to be able to reverse the academic calendar. For the first time in many years, we are having schoolchildren from KG through primary, Junior High School, Senior High School, and then university reporting to school in September”.
He disclosed that the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has been engaging relevant stakeholders to resolve the issues.
According to him, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) were expected to engage the unions to find a resolution to the outstanding matters.
@ghnow_ A disagreement reportedly broke out between passengers, a trotro driver and his mate after the mate allegedly demanded fares above the 8% increase announced by transport unions. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ A disagreement reportedly broke out between passengers, a trotro driver and his mate after the mate allegedly demanded fares above the 8% increase announced by transport unions. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
