All Arrears Owed Teachers to Be Paid By March - President

By Yaw Kyei

Government will complete paying all arrears owed teachers by the end of March this year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

According to the President, the arrears, accrued between 2013 and 2016, covers travel allowances, transfer grants, and overtime allowances.

"Presently, government is no longer accruing arrears. We are putting in place measures to ensure that this situation does not reoccur," he said.

President Akufo-Addo said this when he commissioned the reconstructed Bediako Conference Hall at the headquarters of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).

The new facility, which cost GH¢7 million, has increased the capacity of the hall from 400 to 1,100 with facilities to assist persons with disabilities.

It includes a restaurant, bar and a hostel.

President Akufo-Addo commended GNAT for collaborating with the government to improve the welfare of teachers.

He said the investment in teachers had proven to be the most important determinant of the success of all modern and successful nations around the world.

"As in Ghana, also to make a success of our nation, we must pay attention to teachers. It is only a crop of well trained, well-motivated teachers that can help deliver the educated and skilled work force required to transform Ghana," he said.

He said in addition to the 10 per cent increase in the basic salaries of teachers, government would clear all arrears owed teachers and improve their conditions and welfare.

As part of the strategic plan to attain the SDG 4 which demands an inclusive, equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities, he said government was working alongside key stakeholders to develop a comprehensive teacher policy based on UNESCO benchmark to enhance the lot of our teachers.

He said in line with the policy were teacher recruitment and retrenchment, teacher education, pre-service and in-service, deployment, career structure, teacher employment and working conditions, teacher reward and remuneration, among others.

"Government is pursuing reforms including pre-tertiary curricular reforms, teacher education curricular reform, mainstreaming technical and vocational education to transform education delivery systems to meet the needs of the 21st century demands and produce skilled and confident workforce to drive the nation's agenda," he said.

He appealed to the various teacher associations to give the government the needed support to enable it improve the standard of the profession.

"Our collective goal should be to build a new Ghanaian civilisation where prosperity and development are underpinned by creativity, innovation, hard work, honesty, integrity, and fellow feeling. GNAT should be frontline actors in this noble cause," he said.

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