The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Agyei, says teachers whose promotion records are cleared after October 16 will receive their arrears as part of their November salaries.

He explained that teachers whose promotion records are verified and approved by the October 16 deadline will be paid through a supplementary payroll process, while those cleared after the deadline will have their payments included in the November payroll.

“If by the 12th or 13th, that is next week, we’ll be done with the validation process, whatever has been validated, cleared by us, will be paid on or before 16th October,” he said on Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 8.

“Then after 16th, whatever input forms and whatever process that is done is to be added into the November salary.”

The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department is reviewing promotion records submitted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ensure the information matches teachers’ payroll details before payments are approved.

Mr Agyei disclosed that the GES had processed 52,000 promotions on its system as of 2 p.m. on Thursday and submitted the corresponding input forms for verification.

He said the exercise was intended to establish the teachers’ new grades, the dates their promotions took effect and the arrears owed to them before the payments are made.

The development comes as teacher unions continue their strike over outstanding concerns, including promotion arrears, a proposed deprived-area allowance and the renewal of their collective agreement.

However, while the teachers remain on strike and hence out of classrooms, the Deputy Education Minister, Clement Apaak has appealed to them to return to teaching while negotiations continue.

He acknowledged the teachers concerns expressing government’s commitment to addressing them. However he said,

“We will continue to supplicate. We are lying down prostrate. We are on our knees pleading with our teachers to come back to the classroom whilst we address their legitimate concerns”.

He continued that,

“It’s not a crime to plead. So as long as they are not in the classroom, we will continue to plead with them,” Dr Apaak said on Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 8.

Dr Apaak said the government recognised the importance of teachers and was working to resolve the outstanding issues while urging them to resume teaching.

“We are not antagonistic. We are not challenging their demands. We have not said anywhere that they are not justified,” he said.

He said the government was particularly concerned about the disruption to teaching and learning and would continue efforts to bring the strike to an end.

Dr Apaak declined to disclose the specific sticking points in the ongoing negotiations, saying it would not be appropriate for him to discuss details of the talks publicly while negotiations were still underway.

He, however, said the government expected progress on the issues, including the processing of promotion-related payments for affected teachers.

Council of State to meet teachers

The Council of State will today, Friday, October 9, hold a meeting with striking pre-tertiary teachers as part of efforts to resolve their grievances and facilitate their return to the classroom.

Representatives of the unions and Council members will meet at 1:00 p.m. at the Council’s Secretariat to explore possible measures to resolve the impasse.

The teachers are protesting delayed promotions, deprived-area allowances and negotiations on a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Ministry of Education, Haruna Iddrisu.

The unions have raised concerns over the proposed 10% increase in the digital allowance, which currently amounts to GH¢800 annually.