The Ministry of Education has announced that plans are underway to pay 3,200 teachers who have been working without salaries for almost 10 months.
Speaking at the launch of the ADEA Triennale on Education Conference, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu revealed that Cabinet has approved the payment of salaries owed to newly posted teachers, including graduates from Colleges of Education and universities.
“A few weeks ago, myself and the chief director received a petition from some teachers who are unhappy with the government over their unpaid salaries for some months. I am happy to announce that the cabinet has approved the 6200 teachers to be absorbed.
“We would begin the process in due course. We will give them back pay. I think I can speak for both ministries in this matter. The Cabinet gave the Minister of Finance approval to spend about 1.1 billion Ghana Cedis to absorb a category of health workers and teachers,” he said.
Mr. Iddrisu also revealed plans to embark on an equity distribution initiative aimed at upgrading some Category B schools to Category A status. The move, he said, is intended to ease placement challenges, where many students struggle to gain admission to their preferred Category A schools.
He, however, noted that the ministry would require adequate budgetary support to expand infrastructure in the targeted schools.
“The ministry acknowledges that there is a significant challenge when there are 76,000 vacancies, but 393,000 qualified applicants desiring to fill them. The challenge is described as a near impossibility.
“To address equity and capacity, the Minister has discussed with the President a plan for 2026 to convert at least 10 Category C schools to Category B, and 10 Category B schools to Category A. This conversion will be backed by infrastructure development, including available classroom blocks, dormitories for students, and quality improvement through improved teaching and learning materials and aids.
“But I will need budgetary support and allocation to do that,” he indicated.
The announcement follows a petition presented on Tuesday, September 30, by the Coalition of Unpaid Teachers — made up of graduates from Colleges of Education and universities — to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance over 13 months of unpaid salaries.
Upon receiving the petition, the Education Minister assured the teachers that a joint memorandum with the Ministry of Finance would be sent to Cabinet to address their concerns.
