The National Council of Parents Teachers Association (PTA) has backed the concerns of striking pre-tertiary teachers, warning that parents will join the unions in street protests if the government fails to meet its October 30 deadline for resolving outstanding issues.

Secretary of the Council, Raphael Kofi Gapson, said parents recognise the legitimacy of the teachers’ grievances and believe government must honour its commitments.

Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story, he said parents initially supported the strike because they shared the teachers’ concerns and wanted government to take concrete steps to resolve the dispute.

“We saw that as a genuine concern,” he said.

Mr Gapson, however, urged teachers to consider returning to the classroom while negotiations continue, saying parents are hopeful the ongoing discussions will lead to a resolution by the end of the week.

“We only hope and pray that since the Finance Minister is part of these discussions and they've firmed up concrete measures, we cannot say that we would want to throw away the baby with the bathwater. There should be a way around it,” he said.

He said parents would give government until October 30 to demonstrate concrete progress in fulfilling its commitments to teachers.

Mr Gapson warned that failure to meet the deadline would compel the PTA to join the teacher unions in protest.

“We are telling government too that if by the 30th we don't see any concrete steps, we'll be on the street with the teacher unions to demonstrate against government,” he stated.

He stressed that teachers have legitimate financial obligations that must be honoured, arguing that the issue is one of national priorities.

Mr Gapson also expressed optimism that the negotiations between government and the teacher unions could resolve the impasse and allow schools to return to normal operations.

His comments follow renewed negotiations between the teacher unions, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Ghana Education Service (GES), which ended without an agreement on Tuesday.

The parties are expected to reconvene on Wednesday, October 7, as efforts continue to resolve the issues that triggered the nationwide strike.