Background

Intelligence picked on the ground indicates that a group of teachers in the Ghana Education Service on the rank of Deputy Director is secretly mobilising forces to hold a press conference and thereafter, picket at the Ministry of Education to protest what they term as the failure of H. E. John Dramani Mahama to honour a promise he made to teachers in the run-up to the 2024 elections.

One of the key grievances that teachers presented to John Dramani Mahama, in the run-up to the 2024 elections, was the stagnation of the Deputy Director grade and, to some extent, the Director II grade within the GES on their ranks for many years. The challenge is that the Director II and Director I grades are established ranks within the GES.

This means that unless there is a vacancy in the management position of those two ranks (District Director and Regional/Divisional Director), no teacher, no matter how long they have been on the Deputy Director grade, can be promoted to the Director II grade, and Director II to Director I grade. Teachers have, therefore, stagnated on the grade of deputy director for so many years with little or no hope of climbing up the hierarchical structure.

Teachers on Director II grade are those who qualify to be appointed as Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Directors of Education, while those on Director 1 grade, qualify to be appointed as Regional Directors, and Divisional Directors at the GES Headquarters. With the limited number of 261 districts and only 16 regions, the opportunity for promotion to those ranks is limited, considering the huge number of teachers in the service.

John Mahama's Promise

At a meeting with the leadership of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in East Legon on 8th April 2024, and later with the three teacher unions - Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Pre-tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (Pre-TAG), formerly Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) - at the NAGRAT Lyceum on Friday 19th April 2024, the unions brought this stagnation of Deputy Directors to the attention of H. E. John Dramani Mahama.

JM gave a firm assurance to the leadership of the teacher associations that their concerns of stagnation on the Deputy Director grade would be addressed when he re-assumed office as the President. I was privileged to have organised these meetings between the teacher unions and H. E. John Mahama. Teachers were, therefore, full of hope when John Mahama and the NDC won the 2024 elections.

Simmering Agitations by Teachers

Credible intelligence picked within the teaching fraternity indicates that a group of teachers affected by this stagnation on the Deputy Director rank for many years feel frustrated and are accusing John Mahama of reneging on his promise of addressing their concerns after being in office for over a year. After probing into the concerns of the group, I came to the realisation that I owe it a duty to H. E. John Dramani Mahama, the Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, and the NDC party to de-escalate the tension by coming out with this article to inform all teachers about how JM has kept his promise to them.

The concerns of the group are centred on the following:

1) That a few selected teachers stagnating on the Deputy Director rank for 10 to 15 years are SECRETLY being issued with promotion letters to the rank of Director II in one office at GES Headquarters. The group claims that this alleged process is selective and favouring teachers who are politically connected or who have the ability to pay huge sums of money to some officials within the GES.
I made it abundantly clear to the group that my investigation had not confirmed this allegation and, therefore, pleaded with them to disregard this unfounded rumour. They, however, remain adamant.

2) That letters of appointment are being issued to their colleagues to become Headmasters/Headmistresses at the Senior High Schools, and District Directors of Education at the MMD directorates both in substantive and acting positions, without the due process of interview known in the GES. They claim that most of the teachers appointed are their juniors in ranks who are now becoming their bosses. They see this as unfair to them.

3) The delay in addressing their issue is causing anxiety within their ranks, especially those who are near compulsory retirement at age 60.
Some of their colleagues, they lamented, have already retired without benefiting from the promise made to them by H. E. John Dramani Mahama.

For the above reasons the group is mobilising support especially among the Deputy Director rank to address the press to amplify their concerns and soon follow up with picketing at the Ministry of Education to, as they put it, "register our displeasure to John Mahama for disappointing us after persuading us with his promise to vote massively for him."

John Mahama has kept his promise

I want to assure all teachers, especially those affected by the stagnation that JM has redeemed his pledge to teachers on this issue as evidenced below.
Barely three months after re-assuming office, the President, through the Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, inaugurated a seven-member Committee on Friday 25th April 2025, to come out with modalities for implementing the President's promise of addressing the challenges facing teachers on the Deputy Director and Director II grades within the GES.

The membership of the Committee comprised:
● Mr. Kwami Alorvi as Chairman.
● Prof. Samuel Awinkene Atintono, President of PRINCOF.
● Dr. Sam Awuku, an Education Development Consultant.
● Mr. Amadu Moses Baman, a Deputy General Secretary of GNAT.
● Mr. Michael Akanvibe Ayuraboya, General Secretary of NAGRAT.
● Mr. Adokwei Ayikwei-Awuley, Pre-TAG.
● Mr. Nimako Owusu Dome, National Teaching Council (NTC).
Mrs Hazel Konadu Sarpong of NTC served as Secretary to the Committee.

It is this same committee that worked out the modalities for implementing the government's policy of integrating the teacher licensure process into the final examination of the teacher trainees.
On the issue affecting the progression of teachers on the Deputy Director and Director II grades, the Committee received position papers from the Conference of Directors of Education (CODE) and the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS). A joint position paper was also presented by the three teacher unions, GNAT, NAGRAT, and Pre-TAG, to the Committee.

The General Secretary of CHASS, Mr. Primus Baro, and the President and General Secretary of CODE, Ms. Bernice Ofori, and Mr. Ibrahim Mumuni, respectively, together with four other National Executives of CODE, personally appeared before the committee to defend their position papers presented.
The Committee also moved to the GES Headquarters to have a discussion with the Director-General, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis and his entire management team. The Committee also met with Prof. George K. T. Oduro, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Education.

All these groups and personalities agreed, without EXCEPTION, on one fundamental solution to addressing the challenge of stagnation of the Deputy Directors, namely, to decouple the ranks of Director II and Director I from the management positions.

Recommendations of the Committee

Based on the engagements with these bodies and our own research among teachers, the Committee came out with some key recommendations to address the challenges.
These include the following:
1) The ranks of Director II and Director I within the GES be decoupled from the management positions to allow the promotion of teachers to the Director I grade without hindrance.

2) The Director II and Director I ranks be de-established (unencumbered) to allow teachers to progress through the ranks from Deputy Director to Director I even without holding any management positions. This is already the case with the Deputy Director grade from which Heads of Senior High Schools are appointed, where there are other teachers on the rank of Deputy Director in the same schools as their Headmasters. The Committee felt this could be replicated at the other ranks without any difficulty.

3) The minimum qualification required to head a Senior High School should be Deputy Director rank. Teachers on the Deputy Director, Director II, and Director I ranks could apply to go through the appropriate selection process to become Head of a Senior High School. Headship of an SHS will no more be reserved for Deputy Director rank only.

4) The minimum qualification required for appointment as a Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Director of Education should be Director II. Teachers on the ranks of Director II and Director I could apply to go through the appropriate selection process to be appointed as District Director of Education. A District Director position will cease to be the preserve of Director II rank only.

5) The qualification required for the position of Regional or Divisional Director should be Director I rank. Only those on the Director I grade could apply to go through the selection process to be appointed as Regional and Divisional Directors.

6) The process required to be promoted to the ranks of Deputy Director, Director II, and Director I should be a promotion examination, while the process of selection to be a Head of an SHS, District Director, and Regional/Divisional Director, should be appointment interview. This means those on the ranks of DD, DII, and DI could be on their ranks without holding any management positions and enjoy the salaries attached to those ranks.

7) The promotion of the Deputy Directors and Director II should be done in cohorts with those serving for more years moving up before their juniors.

8) Teachers will receive the salaries attached to their ranks but allowances will be based on the management position occupied. For instance, a teacher on Director I grade holding the management position of a District Director will receive allowances payable to District Directors and not a Regional Director.

Benefits of Unrestricted Progression to Higher Ranks

The Committee considered these recommendations to be beneficial to teachers.
1) Progression to higher ranks brings some economic benefits to the teacher. Higher ranks come with enhanced salaries during the period the teacher is in active service.

2) Retirement on higher ranks with higher salaries also brings improved pension packages that give the teacher a more secure retirement.

3) It also removes frustration among teachers, gives them a sense of accomplishment, recognition for dedication to duty, and motivation to do more for their students.

Presentation of the Report to the Minister

The Committe presented its report to the Minister, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, on Wednesday 28th May 2025. A soft copy of the report was also given to the Deputy Director General of the GES (M/S), Prof. Smile Dzisi, upon her request and information that the Hon. Minister of Education had tasked the GES to implement the Committee's report.

John Mahama's Direct Intervention

After the presentation of the report to the Hon. Minister, on 28th May 2025, I have personally become aware of a directive contained in a letter predating the submission of the committee's report to the Hon. Minister, emanating from the presidency, which affirmed the recommendations of the committee. It is as though the president's directives were before the committee during our deliberations. Both our recommendations and the President's directive appeared to be on the same page.

The letter dated 16th May 2025 addressed to the Chairman of the Public Services Commission and signed by Dr. Callistus Mahama, the Executive Secretary to the President, stated in the introductory paragraph that: "I am directed by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic, to formally communicate Government's revised policy directive on the promotion of senior personnel within the Ghana Education Service (GES)."

The letter continued that "in pursuit of merit-based and efficient career framework, the President has directed that the Ghana Education Service decouple rank from duty post, thereby allowing eligible Deputy Directors to be duly considered and processed for promotion to the rank of Director I, irrespective of their current duty assignments."

The benefits to teachers anticipated by H. E. the President were further amplified in paragraph 3 of the letter which stated that, "Officers promoted under this revised framework shall be entitled to the full remuneration associated with Director I rank, including basic salary and market premium, in accordance with their new ranks." The letter directed that duty post allowances shall apply strictly to those teachers appointed to substantive administrative and managerial positions.

The directive in the letter requested the Public Services Commission to "take the necessary steps to operationalise the full implementation of this directive, working in close collaboration with the Ghana Education Service."

Conclusion

With the above commitment shown by John Mahama to addressing the concerns of the affected teachers, how justified will any group of teachers be in accusing him of reneging on his promise to teachers for which reason they are mobilising for a press conference and picketing? How fair will any picketing group be to the Hon. Minister of Education, Haruna Iddisu, after he had accepted the Committee's recommendations on modalities for implementing the President's promise and directive and tasked the GES to implement the Committee's recommendations?

As a teacher, I share your frustration about the delay in implementing the President's directive on your problem. John Mahama understands and sympathises with you on your plight. Hon. Haruna Iddrisu is committed to bettering your conditions of service. I have no doubt that the Director General of the GES, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis and his management team, too, are concerned about your plight.

Is there a sabotage in the system to create disaffection among teachers for John Mahama? Maybe, maybe not. But there is everything wrong in disrespecting the President's directive issued in May 2025, nine months now, without any action taken by those who are charged to do so. Who is in charge of the process, and what level has the implementation process reached after nine good months of the president's directive?

The frustration notwithstanding, I entreat you colleague teachers to channel your grievances through your unions to find out the reasons for the delay and to follow up on the speedy implementation of the President's directive without any further delay. Am I frustrated myself about the delay? Yes, I am, and I stand with you for a speedy implementation of my committee's recommendations. But to get to your destination, not every dog that barks at you deserves a stone; reserve your stones for the ones that can bite. From the records I have provided here, President Mahama has no teeth to bite you.

Keep in touch with your destiny with calmness and hope. I believe we shall overcome the challenges with concerted effort and cool heads. I am, hereby, appealing to the three teacher unions - GNAT, NAGRAT, Pre-TAG - to liaise with the GES to expedite actions on the implementation of the President's directive and the Committee's recommendations to bring solace to our colleagues who have stagnated on their ranks for too long. The proposal to have this issue addressed is your "baby." Don't allow any group of teachers to render you irrelevant by demonstrating against the government and taking the credit when the policy is implemented. Provide leadership to the process by engaging the GES.
I conclude by stating emphatically that John Dramani Mahama has kept his promise to the teachers stagnating on the grade of Deputy Director.

At this point, meliorism should keep you hopeful that the delay in addressing your concerns will soon be a matter of history, given the commitment of JM and the Hon. Minister of Education to the process.