Education Ministry and Teacher Unions Reach Agreement on Promotion Placements and Salary Scales

The Ministry of Education and Ghana’s three major teacher unions have reached a significant agreement resolving outstanding issues over the placement of newly promoted teachers onto their appropriate salary scales. The deal, struck at a high-level meeting on Monday, 31 August 2026, has led the unions to call off their planned nationwide strike.

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Education, brought together Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, Deputy Minister Dr Clement Abas Apaak, and leadership from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG). Representing the unions were GNAT General Secretary Thomas Musah, NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba, and PRETAG President King Awudu Ali.

Key Terms of the Agreement

Several concrete resolutions emerged from the talks:

• No more physical documentation requirements: Teachers will no longer need to travel to District or Regional Education Offices to submit pay slips or other documents as a condition for salary-scale placement. Placement will now be done automatically.
• Effective start date: All teachers who passed the promotional examinations will have January 2026 as the effective date for their new ranks and corresponding salaries, regardless of when they sat the exams.
• Scale of beneficiaries: Close to 80,000 teachers (reports range between 77,000 and 80,000) are expected to be placed on their correct salary scales as part of the process.
• Timeline: The Ghana Education Service (GES) is to provide the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) with the necessary data so that placements and payments can be completed by the end of September 2026. A supplementary payroll will be raised if any teachers remain unplaced by that deadline.
  

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Background to the Dispute

The agreement ends a period of rising tension. Teachers who successfully passed promotion examinations in 2025 had remained on their old salary scales for an extended period, missing the financial benefits of their new ranks. The GES had earlier indicated that automatic placement would take effect by August 2026. However, a CAGD directive requiring additional lists and documentation created delays and frustration among the unions, prompting a strike threat effective 31 August if the matter was not resolved.

Deputy Minister Dr Apaak later explained that the two main issues raised by the unions the requirement for extra documentation and the effective start date had both been addressed through compromise. He praised the union leadership for engaging constructively and prioritising the continuity of teaching and learning.

Official Reactions

The Ministry of Education commended the teacher unions for their constructive approach and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring teachers receive their rightful entitlements in a timely and efficient manner. Dr Apaak emphasised that teaching and learning in pre-tertiary institutions would continue uninterrupted as a result of the agreement.

Union leaders confirmed the suspension of industrial action and urged members to return to (or remain at) their posts while the administrative processes are completed.

Looking Ahead

With the immediate threat of a strike averted, attention now turns to implementation. The GES must supply accurate data to the CAGD, and the relevant agencies must process the placements of tens of thousands of teachers by the end of September. Successful execution of this agreement will be closely watched by teachers across the country as a test of the government’s ability to deliver on commitments affecting their conditions of service.

For now, the deal represents a positive outcome of dialogue, preserving industrial peace in the education sector at a critical time in the academic year.