The Member of Parliament for Offinso North and member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, has called on the government to honour its commitments to teachers following the suspension of the nationwide strike by organised teacher unions.

In a statement issued by the Minority Caucus in Parliament, Dr Asamoah welcomed the decision by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) to suspend the industrial action and return to the classroom.

He commended the more than 300,000 teachers across the country for putting the interests of Ghanaian children first despite their grievances, describing their decision to return to work as an act of patriotism and good faith.

He also praised the leadership of the teacher unions for their restraint, acknowledged the support of parents and the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, and recognised the roles played by the Council of State and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission in facilitating discussions between the parties.

However, the Offinso North MP maintained that the strike could have been avoided if the government had fulfilled its existing obligations to teachers.

According to the Minority, the teachers were not making new demands but were seeking the implementation of agreed conditions of service, including the automatic placement of promoted teachers on their new salary grades, payment of the 20 per cent Deprived Area Allowance, and timely negotiations towards a new Collective Agreement.

The statement cited figures indicating that, as of September 22, 2026, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department had received documents for only 6,079 of the 58,620 promoted teachers, despite an earlier agreement between the government and the unions on August 31, 2026, to establish a process for their placement on the appropriate salary grades.

The government subsequently missed the unions’ September 24 deadline, leading to the withdrawal of teachers’ services on September 25.

Dr Asamoah said the consequences of the industrial action had been borne largely by schoolchildren, particularly candidates who will be preparing for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), who lost valuable teaching and learning hours at the beginning of the academic year.

He further noted that pupils in deprived communities, where teacher shortages are already a major challenge, were among the worst affected.

Government given deadlines to settle outstanding commitments

The Minority has urged the government to fulfil the commitments that secured the suspension of the strike, warning that any failure to meet the agreed timelines could trigger a resumption of industrial action.

According to the statement, the government has committed to paying promotion arrears for the first batch of 51,000 teachers by October 16, 2026, while the placement and payment of arrears for all remaining promoted teachers are expected to be completed by October 31, 2026.

The other commitments include payment of the Digital Instruction Support Allowance instituted by the previous NPP government in November 2026, the Continuous Professional Development Allowance in December 2026, and the rollout of the Deprived Area Allowance in January 2027.

The statement also called for the conclusion of a new Collective Agreement with the teacher unions within a mutually agreed timeframe.

Dr Asamoah stressed that the return of teachers to the classroom should not be interpreted as the resolution of their grievances but as an opportunity for the government to demonstrate its commitment to addressing them.

Minority demands transparency and parliamentary oversight

The Minority Caucus has outlined six key measures it believes are necessary to prevent a recurrence of the dispute and ensure that teachers receive their entitlements.

These include the placement of every promoted teacher on the correct salary grade, payment of arrears dating back to January 1, 2026, and the publication of a verified list of promoted teachers.

The Caucus also called for the reconciliation of the unions’ figure of more than 80,000 promoted teachers with the government’s official figure of 58,620 to ensure that no eligible teacher is excluded from the process.

It further urged the government to improve on the digitized promotion system initiated by the previous administration to eliminate delays associated with paperwork and administrative bottlenecks.

The Minority also called on the Minister for Education to brief Parliamentary Select Committee on Education on progress towards meeting the agreed deadlines, while any supplementary funding required to settle the outstanding obligations should be submitted to Parliament for approval.

Additionally, it urged the Ghana Education Service to develop and publish a targeted learning recovery plan for BECE and WASSCE candidates, as well as pupils in deprived communities who suffered significant losses in instructional time during the strike.

Government must prioritise implementation over promises

The Offinso North MP reiterated the Minority’s commitment to monitoring the government’s progress in meeting the agreed deadlines and keeping Ghanaians informed.

The statement warned that should the government fail to honour its commitments and teachers resume their industrial action, responsibility for the resulting disruption would rest squarely with the government.

It added that the 2024 Collective Agreement already provides a framework for resolving the outstanding issues, arguing that what is required now is implementation rather than further assurances.

“When you frustrate the teacher, you fail the child,” the statement stressed, underscoring the importance of protecting teachers’ welfare as a necessary condition for safeguarding the quality of education in Ghana.

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