The Finance Ministry has cleared the Ghana Education Service (GES) to pay the salary arrears of teachers covering August 1, 2024, to November 2025.

However, the payment will be made in five instalments, GES has announced in a formal statement dated April 20, signed by the Acting Deputy Director-General (Management Services), Prof. Smile Dzisi, on behalf of the Director-General of GES.

“Management of the Ghana Education Service hereby informs all Regional Directors that approval has been granted by the Ministry of Finance for the payment of salary arrears by CAGD to eligible staff of GES from 1st August 2024 to November 2025”, parts of the statement read.

The payment of the arrears is scheduled to begin in May 2026. The arrears will be paid over four months, with four months’ arrears to be settled in each of May, June, July and August.

“The accruing arrears are to be paid in five (5) instalments…”, the statement added.

This comes after the education regulatory body secured financial clearance from the Finance Ministry in 2024, following the posting of the teachers.

The statement, addressed to all Regional Directors, indicated that the Ministry of Finance has authorised the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) to process the payments. GES also directed all heads of schools to inform their eligible staff.

The Service has directed Regional Directors to communicate the development to all Heads of Schools to ensure that affected staff are duly informed.

The move is expected to bring relief to affected staff who have been awaiting payment of their outstanding salaries.

Meanwhile, it will be recalled that the Ghana Education Service (GES) in a press statement dated 16th October, announced that it has received financial clearance to pay the salaries of 6,249 teachers recruited in 2024.

These teachers had been working after their postings but hadn’t been placed on the government’s payroll, hence they were not receiving salaries for their services.

However, after the Finance Ministry authorised that they can be paid, the education regulator announced that they can now start receiving salaries. In Ghana’s public sector, recruits cannot be paid until the Ministry of Finance issues financial clearance.

Consequently, GES, in the statement, noted that “This approval allows the Ghana Education Service to complete all necessary processes to ensure the staff receive their salaries. Although this financial clearance expires on 31st December 2025, Management of GES will ensure that all staff are placed on the mechanised payroll in time for November 2025 payments.”

The Service expressed appreciation to its staff for their dedication and reiterated its commitment to ensuring the timely and accurate disbursement of salaries.

According to reports, these 6,249 newly recruited teachers mark the last set of recruits that have been cleared to receive a salary.

The Education Minister in mid-October announced that the government will absorb six thousand two hundred teachers into the education system and settle all arrears owed them.

This announcement came after a group of concerned and aggrieved teachers who had worked for months without salary petitioned the office of the Education Minister, he said.

Addressing the petition, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, during a pre-event briefing and regional stakeholder meeting on October 13 ahead of the ADEA Triennale 2025 launch later this month, revealed that the government has earmarked about one million cedis for the payment of teachers’ salaries. He also urged them to give their best to promote academic excellence across the country’s educational institutions.

“A few weeks ago, my Chief Director and I received a petition from some teachers who were unhappy with the government over their delayed salaries. They have worked for several months without pay. I’m happy to announce that the Cabinet has given approval for the 6,200 teachers to be absorbed, and the process will begin in due course. They will receive their staff IDs, and as I assured them, they will also get their back pay.

"But having demonstrated goodwill by doing this, we expect something in return — that they remain committed and dedicated to academic work,” the Minister highlighted.

He revealed that the government has approved one million dollars to absorb the teachers and a category of health workers.

“So, those 6,200 teachers, I think I can speak for both ministries in this matter, the Cabinet has given the Minister of Finance approval to vary the budget and spend about GH₵1.1 billion to absorb a category of health workers and teachers,” the Minister noted.