Ghanaian teachers would not experience delays in the payment of their salaries if the Presidential Candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) is voted into power.

Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom said newly recruited teachers salaries will be paid after the first month of recruitment.

He gave these assurances when he met with the leadership and staff of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Accra Thursday.

The business mogul said his company employs thousands of people yet they are promptly paid their salaries and allowances adding he only requires only technology to make payment on time.

“Same will happen when I’m President. The only reason why government will delay in paying salaries is when there is no money. The technology is there to ensure swift payment,” he said.

The businessman also assured teacher trainees of prompt payment of their allowances saying that more people need to be encouraged to be teachers and that cutting trainee allowances is not necessary.

He assured Ghanaian teachers of accommodation schemes plus the construction of comprehensive school compounds with laboratories, playgrounds, cafeteria, a nurse, better libraries and ICT centres.

The PPP leader disclosed to the teachers that his party has a research paper on how to make education free, compulsory and continuous in Ghana with inspiration from Chapter 6 of Ghana’s Constitution.

“Ghana can't compete in the world when school leavers elsewhere have senior high school (SHS) certificates while a majority of our people here have JHS certificates. 

"My jobs policy goes in hand in hand with education policy, therefore my government will provide all the essential tools to ensure that the policy works,” he said.

The former Public Works Minister said he would introduce education guards who will ensure that children of school-going age do not loiter about.

He reiterated his agriculture and industrialisation agenda which includes petrochemicals industry will need educated people adding "All of these can't be achieved when people do not go to school.” 

Against this background, he urged all teachers across the country to vote massively for him since he knows their plights as his parents were also teachers.

General Secretary of GNAT, David Ofori Acheampong, thanked Dr Nduom for choosing to meet with them acknowledging that is the first time a presidential candidate has met with the Association.

He appealed for the depoliticisation of education and called on Dr Nduom to develop an education agenda backed by law that will be followed by all governments when he is elected president. 

Mr Acheampong also urged Dr Nduom to immediately halt the commercialisation of education being fast-tracked in the districts as well as the sale of school lands by District Assemblies. 

The GNAT General Secretary also pleaded with the PPP Candidate to stop the sale of residential lands being turned into private schools when he becomes president.

Dr Nduom begins his tour of the Western Region Friday with a mammoth rally to come off at Jomoro to come later.