Ghana’s three main pre-tertiary teacher unions, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Education Teachers Association (PRETAG) have entered the second week of a nationwide strike that began on September 25, 2026. The Ghana Teachers’ unions started the protest due to promotion arrears and pay demands which government missed after a 24th September 2026 deadline.
The unions are demanding the automatic placement of teachers who passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026, payment of related arrears from January 2026, a new collective agreement and implementation of deprived-area allowance.
The government has said promoted teachers’ salaries have been upgraded and arrears are expected to be paid from October, while negotiations on other demands continue. However, the strike has left classrooms largely empty, disrupting teaching and learning.
The government has acknowledged concerns about the possible impact on the academic calendar. The ongoing strike is a worrying development that must not be allowed to become another prolonged disruption to basic education.
GNAT, NAGRAT and PRETAG have legitimate concerns that deserve serious attention. Teachers who successfully passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 should not have to endure prolonged delays before receiving the salaries and arrears associated with their promotions.
The unions are also demanding a new collective agreement, following the expiration of the existing one, as well as the implementation of a deprived-area allowance for teachers working in underserved communities. These are not issues that should be left to fester until industrial action becomes inevitable.
However, while the grievances of teachers must be addressed, the consequences of a prolonged strike extend far beyond the negotiating table. The immediate victims are Ghana’s children.
The strike has already left classrooms empty in public pre-tertiary schools. Reports from schools in Accra have shown school compounds being turned into playgrounds, with pupils left without teachers to supervise or teach them.
For many children, particularly those in kindergarten and primary school, two weeks away from structured learning is not simply two weeks of leisure. These are formative years when children are developing basic literacy, numeracy, social and cognitive skills.
Ghana should be particularly cautious about allowing another major interruption to schooling. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of schools in 2020, disrupting learning for millions of Ghanaian children. UNICEF reported that approximately nine million children in Ghana experienced learning disruption during the pandemic, with nearly eight million partially missing the third term of that academic year.
The country has since worked to restore the academic calendar. The newly released 2026/2027 calendar provides for a 15-week first term, beginning September 8 2026 and ending December 17 2026 followed by further terms running into July 2027. The Ministry of Education itself has acknowledged that the strike could affect efforts to maintain the academic calendar after previous disruptions.
Government and the teacher unions must, therefore, return to the negotiating table with urgency and good faith. Neither side should underestimate what is at stake. The government must honour verifiable commitments and provide clear timelines for outstanding payments and negotiations.
The unions, while standing up for their members, must also recognise that every additional day outside the classroom represents lost instructional time for children. This is not a contest to determine who can hold out longer. It is a national education crisis that requires compromise.
The children of Ghana cannot afford another disrupted school year. Government and the teacher unions must dialogue, reach an amicable settlement and get teachers back into classrooms without further delay.
