Education Minister Questions Reliance on Manual Teacher Promotion Records Amid Strike

​Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has raised strong concerns over Ghana’s continued dependence on manual processing for teachers’ promotion records, describing the existing system as inefficient. He made the observation during an unannounced visit to the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra, where officials from the Ghana Education Service (GES) were working through Sunday to input outstanding data required for salary adjustments. The manual data entry process has surfaced as a primary grievance behind the ongoing nationwide strike led by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (PRETAG).

​The Minister’s weekend visit was aimed at inspecting progress firsthand and ensuring that the administrative backlog is cleared without further delay. GES staff have been working around the clock at the venue to process thousands of promotion files, highlighting the urgent need for digital transformation within the education sector’s human resource management. Hon. Iddrisu stressed that transitioning to an automated system would eliminate recurring administrative delays, restore trust between the government and teacher unions, and prevent future industrial actions.

​Optimism remains high that the intensive weekend effort will yield immediate results for tens of thousands of affected educators across the country. The Education Minister expressed confidence that the exercise will successfully capture approximately 51,000 teachers by the close of Monday, October 5. Completing this data entry phase is seen as the critical hurdle in bringing a swift resolution to the union grievances that have disrupted academic activities nationwide.

​Once the data input is finalized, the government plans to move quickly on the financial commitments owed to the promoted staff. Minister Iddrisu noted that completing the exercise on schedule will enable the government to officially instruct the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department to process supplementary salary payments by mid-October, offering a clear timeline for resolving the pay discrepancies and ending the strike.

@Volta Today