A member of the National Democratic Congress’ Communications Team, Zigfred Acquah, told Joy Prime’s Prime Morning on Tuesday that the government has not refused to pay teachers who have been promoted. Instead, he said, the delay stems from required documentation and payroll validation procedures.
Acquah explained that the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department will only process a promoted teacher’s new salary once three key documents are in place. The first is a promotion letter that states the effective date of the promotion and the new salary entitlement. The second is a change of grade/pay form, mandatory for teachers promoted to roles such as Director, Assistant Director or Professional Teacher. The third is a master list from the Ghana Education Service (GES) that validates all promoted teachers.
He noted that GES currently lists 58,620 teachers, and as of September 22, 2026, only 6,079 of them had received their promotion payments, including arrears back to January 2026. The remaining 52,541 teachers remain unpaid due to incomplete documentation and payroll validation.
“The Controller and Accountant General’s Department is willing to pay all teachers, unless there are documentation and payroll validation issues,” Acquah said. He warned that missing documents could open the door to payroll fraud.
The comments come amid threats from teacher unions that they may launch a nationwide strike over unpaid promotion arrears. The government’s stance remains that it is committed to resolving the issue once the necessary paperwork is completed.
