'Gov't should get serious and resolve concerns of striking teachers' – NUGS

The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has raised concerns over the continued strike by pre-tertiary teachers, noting that students have now spent 10 days in school without regular teaching.

NUGS President, Rashid Ibrahim, said the situation is serious and urged the government to urgently resolve the issues that have led to the industrial action.

His comments followed renewed efforts by the government and the teacher unions to resolve the impasse, with negotiations over conditions of service, promotion arrears and the 20 per cent deprived-area allowance still ongoing.

“Students have been in school for 10 days without teachers. This is very serious and disturbing," he wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, October 6.

“Government should get serious to get these issues resolved," he added.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) began the nationwide strike on September 25 over outstanding concerns affecting their members.

The unions are demanding the payment of promotion arrears, placement of promoted teachers on the appropriate salary grades, implementation of the 20 per cent deprived-area allowance and the negotiation of a new collective agreement.

The existing collective agreement expired in June 2026, with the unions raising concerns over delays in negotiating a new agreement.

The government has since tabled new proposals aimed at addressing some of the concerns, including a commitment to complete the placement of promoted teachers on their new grades by October 30.

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission met the leadership of the three teacher unions on Tuesday, October 6, to negotiate the expired collective agreement and conditions of service.

The meeting, was however, inconclusive and has been postponed to Wednesday, October 7.