Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu is meeting the leadership of Ghana’s three major pre-tertiary teacher unions as government seeks to end the nationwide strike that has disrupted teaching and learning across the country.

The meeting, which is underway at the Ministry of Education, brings together the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG).

Officials from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) are also part of the engagement.

The unions began the indefinite industrial action on Friday, September 25, after a September 24 deadline for the government to address their concerns passed without a resolution. Their grievances include unpaid promotion-related arrears, delays in negotiating a new Collective Agreement and the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.

The unions have entered the talks insisting that they expect concrete action rather than another round of assurances.

PRETAG Communications Director Kingsley Anyimadu told the media on Monday that the unions had no fresh demands and wanted government to address the outstanding payments.

“There are three major issues. Two of them are about payment, and we do not have any fresh issues to raise. All we are expecting and asking the government to do is to make the payments,” he said.

He warned that any attempt to ask teachers for more time could further complicate the situation.

A major concern is the delay in concluding negotiations for a new Collective Agreement after the existing agreement expired in June 2026.

The unions are also demanding the automatic placement of teachers who successfully passed promotion aptitude tests in December 2025 and February 2026 on their appropriate salary scales, together with payment of outstanding arrears.

The unions have previously said about 80,000 teachers are affected by the promotion-placement issue.

The third major issue is the 20% Deprived Area Allowance for teachers working in hard-to-reach communities.

PRETAG President King Ali Awudu has said the allowance has remained unresolved since 2009 and is intended to provide an incentive for teachers serving in difficult-to-reach areas.

The talks also come after the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department clarified its position on the promotion arrears.

CAGD says it has fully processed and paid 6,079 promotion cases submitted by the Ghana Education Service, including applicable arrears effective from January 1, 2026.

The Department said the 6,079 cases formed part of an expected 58,620 promotion cases and that outstanding payments relate to cases for which GES has not yet submitted the required documentation.

CAGD said it can only process salary adjustments after receiving the necessary promotion and change-of-grade documentation from the employer.

The Education Ministry has expressed concern that the strike could undermine efforts to restore Ghana’s academic calendar.

Press Secretary and spokesperson for the Ministry, Hasmin Mohammed, said the government had worked to ensure that learners from kindergarten through university could return to school in September.

“It took this government a lot of effort to be able to reverse the academic calendar. For the first time, in many years, we are having schoolchildren from KG through primary, Junior High School, Senior High School, and then university reporting to school in September,” he said.

He said the Ministry was engaging the FWSC and CAGD because some of the issues raised by the unions require action beyond the Education Ministry.

NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba has maintained that the unions remain willing to engage government, provided the discussions lead to a resolution of their concerns.

The unions have previously warned that they would not accept further delays after what they consider prolonged engagements over the outstanding issues.