Promoted teachers to receive upgraded salaries, arrears from October – Minister

On Monday, the government assured promoted teachers that their new salaries would accurately reflect their elevated grades, with overdue promotion arrears set to be settled starting October 2026, according to Minister of Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu. During a meeting with teacher union representatives to address salary upgrade concerns, promotion arrears, and deprived-area allowances, Mr Iddrisu confirmed that the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department had verified the teachers' grade placements.

He stated that the September salaries of affected educators would demonstrate the implementation of the salary enhancements. The Minister further pledged that the government would pay promotion arrears dating back to January 2026, though some data verification challenges persisted. Around 80,000 cases were being evaluated, while plans were underway to address arrears for approximately 6,000 teachers.

Mr Iddrisu attributed difficulties to the system used for processing promotions and pledged to resolve outstanding issues on a case-by-case basis. Concerning the 20 percent deprived-area allowance, the government committed to honoring the agreement, and a joint committee comprising government and teacher representatives would validate school and community data classified as deprived areas.

The validation process, overseen by Labour Minister Emmanuel Kwodwo Agyrkum, aimed to ensure a unified understanding of which schools qualified for the allowance, considering discrepancies in urban and rural classifications. The Labour Minister expressed optimism that the discussions would resolve the strike's core issues, safeguarding the academic calendar and preventing disruptions to planned activities.