The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has used the occasion of World Teachers’ Day to ask the government to pay the legacy arrears owed teachers across the country.
Teachers have over the past few weeks demanded payment of their two-year salary and promotion arrears.
Some teacher groups have also threatened to embark on a demonstration if the government fails to clear the debt.
Speaking at the World Teachers’ Day Celebration in Cape Coast, the President of GNAT, Philipa Larsen among other things demanded that all concerns of teachers be addressed immediately.
She stressed that the non-payment of the areas “is affecting the morale of teachers, and we call on the GES to expedite action to get the outstanding teachers paid immediately.”
Another concern for the association is the non-promotion and upgrading of teachers within the service who completed degree programmes without GES permission.
“What is going to be more discouraging is the fact that next year, the first batch of degree students will be graduating from the colleges of education, and they will be placed… above those already in the system without upgrading,” Philipa Larsen added.
In addition, the association also reminded the government of the agreement in place for the payment of the Continuous Professional Development Allowances.
“We want to know when these monies are going to hit our accounts,” Philipa Larsen asked.
Contentions over arrears
In December 2019, teacher unions went on strike because of the delays in the payment of their legacy arrears.
At the time, they claimed their arrears have been verified and approved for payment by the Controller and Accountant General’s internal audit unit but the monies have not been released yet.
The Ghana Education Service reportedly blamed the delay in releasing the monies on discrepancies in the verified data.
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Citinewsroom
