PRETAG Pushes for Clear Plan on Payment of Teachers’ Arrears
The Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) has raised fresh concerns over delays in the payment of arrears owed to teachers, calling on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to outline a clear and organised roadmap for addressing the issue.
According to the association, the continued delay is creating anxiety among affected teachers and could affect morale within the education sector if not urgently addressed.
The concern comes in the wake of a recent protest by the Coalition of Unpaid Teachers, who marched to the Ministry of Finance to present a petition demanding the payment of long-standing arrears they say have been neglected for too long.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, PRETAG Vice President Adokwei Ayikwei Awulley described the situation as troubling and urged authorities to act swiftly to restore confidence in the system.
He stressed that the payment process needs proper structure and transparency, warning that the current approach risks disturbing industrial peace in the education sector.
“Authorities should sit stakeholders down and provide a clear roadmap. Processes must be streamlined. We need teachers in the system, yet shortages persist, and in some cases, one teacher is left managing several classrooms,” he said.
Mr. Awulley also questioned the adequacy of the government’s plan to recruit 7,000 teachers, arguing that the figure falls short of addressing the wider staffing challenges facing schools across the country.
He noted that while recruitment is a step in the right direction, it may not significantly reduce the backlog of unemployed trained teachers or fully resolve the teacher shortage situation in classrooms nationwide.