GTEC freezes 2,000 striking Colleges of Education teachers’ salaries

The salaries of members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) on strike have been blocked amid their decision not to call off their industrial action and return to the classrooms to continue academic activities.

Except for College Principals, about 2,000 teachers across the 46 government Colleges of Education who have been on strike since May 2024 over dissatisfaction with their conditions of service salaries for July 2024 have been blocked.

This comes after a letter by Nicholas Ameyaw of GTEC, on behalf of the Director-general of GTEC, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor, directed the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to freeze the salaries in response to the strike action.

“You are by this letter requested to stop the salaries of all teaching staff of the Colleges of Education except for the College Principals for July. 2024,” part of the letter stated. “College Principals are not to validate the July 2024 salaries of all teaching staff,” the letter stated.

But, the Deputy Director-General of the Commission, Professor Francis K.E. Nunoo has said tutors and principals who were at post to ensure that properties of the colleges were safeguarded would be exempted and paid their July salary.

He pleaded with the striking tutors to call off the strike and return to the classroom and gave an assurance that once they suspended their strike, the decision to freeze their salaries would be reversed and their salaries processed and paid.

“If they go back to the classroom, we will suspend the letter instructing the CAGD not to validate their salaries and they will get their salaries and their families will smile home happily,” the GTEC Deputy Director said in an interview with Graphic.

He told the newspaper meeting between the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum and the national executive of CETAG will be held today expressing hope the tutors would rescind their decision and return to the classroom.

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) official said at that meeting, the Minister would demonstrate the commitment of the government to end the strike by showing them the efforts put in so far to meet their demands.

Prof Francis K.E. Nunoo said the central government sympathised with them and understood their concerns as was evident in the extensive engagements, stressing, “We are ready and committed to solving the issue.”

He called for calm in the tertiary education front, especially within the colleges of education, so that teaching and learning could move forward so that children in the third generation could be educated.