The Upper East Regional Chairman of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), John Akunzebe, has accused government of repeatedly deceiving teachers with promises, insisting that members will not return to the classroom until their outstanding promotion arrears are paid.
Mr Akunzebe says assurances that the affected teachers have been validated are not enough, arguing that teachers want to see the money reflected in their bank accounts before they will consider ending the strike.
“The politicians will always deceive us. Since 2025, this government has been deceiving us as teachers. We will not go to the classroom. Fine, they say they have validated us. Good, until we see the money hitting our accounts we are not going back,” he said.
Speaking on A1 Radio, the NAGRAT chairman said teachers had lost confidence in repeated assurances over their demands and would not rely solely on promises to call off the industrial action.
His comments come as the nationwide strike by the three major pre-tertiary teacher unions, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), NAGRAT and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), continues over unresolved concerns about promotion arrears, the proposed Deprived Area Allowance and negotiations for a new Collective Agreement.
The unions say teachers who passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 have not been fully placed on their appropriate salary scales, with the affected teachers demanding arrears dating back to January 2026.
They also want government to implement a 20 per cent Deprived Area Allowance for teachers working in rural and hard-to-reach communities, as well as conclude negotiations on a new Collective Agreement governing their conditions of service.
Government has maintained that it is addressing the concerns, with the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, pledging that promotion arrears dating back to January 2026 will be paid by October 30, 2026.
Government has also established a committee involving the teacher unions and the Ghana Statistical Service to validate data on teachers and communities that qualify for the proposed 20 per cent deprived-area allowance, with implementation targeted for January 2027.
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department has meanwhile said it had processed 6,079 promotion cases submitted by the Ghana Education Service, including arrears effective January 2026, while attributing outstanding cases to incomplete documentation and data yet to be submitted for processing.
But Mr Akunzebe says teachers are no longer prepared to suspend the strike based on assurances alone.
He insists that until the government’s commitments are translated into actual payments, teachers will remain off the classroom.
Source: Bolgafmonline.com| 102.7 MHz| Bolgatanga
