The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has assured striking teachers across the country that the government will settle all outstanding promotion arrears owed to them by October 30, 2026.

According to the Minister, the government recognises its responsibility as an employer to ensure that teachers receive all payments due to them, including arrears resulting from promotions.

Haruna Iddrisu gave the assurance during a two-day symposium and exhibition organised for teachers by the National Teaching Council (NTC) at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall in Accra.

Addressing participants at the event, the Education Minister said the government had accepted responsibility for fulfilling its financial obligations to teachers and would ensure that the outstanding promotion arrears were paid.

“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.

“If by October 30, your promotion arrears are not paid, then I will have no honour.”

The assurance comes amid growing concerns among teachers over delays in the payment of various outstanding arrears, particularly those linked to promotions and other conditions of service.

The payment of promotion arrears has remained a longstanding issue in Ghana’s pre-tertiary education sector, with teacher unions repeatedly urging the government to clear outstanding financial obligations owed to their members.

Three teacher unions declare strike

The latest commitment from the Education Minister follows industrial action declared by three major teacher unions over the unpaid arrears.

The Pre-Tertiary Education Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) announced a nationwide strike on September 25 to demand the payment of arrears owed to their members.

The unions have argued that prolonged delays in settling the outstanding payments have created financial difficulties and frustration among teachers.

They have therefore called on the government to take concrete steps to resolve the issue and ensure that all legitimate payments owed to teachers are settled.

With the October 30 deadline set by the Education Minister, attention will now turn to whether the government will meet its commitment and bring an end to the dispute.