By Our Democracy News GH

ACCRA, Ghana – October 28, 2026 – About 28,000 Ghana Education Service (GES) staff awaiting promotion salary arrears may have to wait until November to receive their outstanding payments, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has disclosed, citing delays in validating their records.

The delay could push payments beyond the October 30 deadline previously announced by the minister, despite the government having paid arrears to 52,000 beneficiaries whose records had been verified.

Speaking on Joy FM on Tuesday, October 27, Mr Iddrisu said the outstanding cases were being processed through a validation exercise involving the GES and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).

He explained that the government could not delay the payment of salaries nationwide while the remaining records were being checked and entered into the payroll system.

“The 52,000 promotion arrears on the new grade was honoured by government and paid by government on the 16th of October,” he said.

The minister indicated that the validation exercise could begin on October 28 or shortly afterwards, after which the verified records would be processed for payment.

Government to meet teacher unions

Mr Iddrisu said he had scheduled an emergency meeting with teacher union leaders at 11 a.m. on Tuesday to discuss how to settle the outstanding arrears.

The meeting was expected to consider whether the government would make a supplementary payment in November or schedule the outstanding amounts for later in the month.

He urged affected teachers and other GES staff to remain calm and continue working while the government addressed the outstanding claims.

The minister attributed the delay largely to administrative challenges, explaining that the government had opted for manual validation rather than automatic processing.

On the availability of funds, Mr Iddrisu said the Finance Minister had assured the negotiating parties that provision had been made in the budget for the payments.

He maintained that the outstanding arrears were being delayed by administrative processes rather than a lack of funds.

October 30 deadline at risk

The latest development follows an earlier assurance by Mr Iddrisu that the promotion arrears would be paid by October 30, 2026.

The issue was among the grievances that led three pre-tertiary teacher unions to declare a nationwide strike on September 25, 2026.

The unions suspended the strike on October 9 following engagements with the government and relevant institutions. Members were directed to return to the classroom on October 12 while discussions on their outstanding grievances continued.

With approximately 28,000 cases still awaiting validation, affected staff may have to wait beyond the October deadline for their payments.

The outcome of the government’s discussions with the teacher unions is expected to determine the timeline for settling the remaining arrears.