Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has announced that government will begin paying outstanding promotion arrears owed to teachers, with at least 51,000 promoted teachers expected to have their new salary grades validated and their arrears paid by October 16, 2026.
Mr Iddrisu made the announcement at the 2026 Teacher Prize ceremony in Accra, where he also appealed to striking teachers to return to the classroom as government continues discussions with their unions.
According to the Minister, government has committed to paying promotion arrears owed to all eligible teachers dating back to January 2020.
He said the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department had been directed to validate the records of at least 51,000 promoted teachers and place them on their new salary grades.
“I have given the GES and the Controller and Accountant-General up to 4 p.m. today, 5 October, to validate at least not less than 51,000 promoted teachers to be put on their new salary grades and their arrears paid through a supplementary intervention on or before 16 October,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu added that the remaining teachers among the approximately 80,000 beneficiaries would have their arrears and salary adjustments addressed by the end of October.
“I give you that pledge, and I’ll stand in on 30 October on behalf of the President,” he said.
The Education Minister said government was currently engaging teacher unions on three main issues: the expired collective agreement and conditions of service, the proposed 20 per cent deprived-area allowance, and the payment of promotion arrears.
On the deprived-area allowance, Mr Iddrisu said government remained committed to fulfilling its manifesto pledge but needed to validate the relevant data to determine which teachers and locations qualified.
He explained that the validation was necessary because teachers could be transferred from deprived areas to other parts of the country, creating questions about whether they would continue to qualify for the allowance.
He said government and the unions must therefore agree on clear criteria to determine which teachers and locations would qualify for the proposed allowance.
