GNAT Calls Off Strike After President Mahama Steps In

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has cancelled its planned nationwide strike that was supposed to happen on April 30. This decision came after President John Mahama got involved directly.

The President, through Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, asked the Ministry of Education to take quick action on the concerns raised by GNAT. One of the main issues was the delay in promoting teachers.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has since promoted 50,000 out of 54,000 teachers who were due for promotion this month. Also, 579 teachers who had been removed from the government payroll have now been added back.

GNAT’s General Secretary, Thomas Tanko Musah, thanked the President and others for responding quickly. He said because of this, more teachers now have the chance to get promoted to higher positions, like deputy director roles.

After having meetings with the Public Services Commission and GES, GNAT decided not to go on strike. Instead, they will continue working with the government to solve the remaining problems by the end of May.

However, GNAT raised a new concern that some Regional Directors of Education are making it difficult to upgrade teachers.

Mr. Musah said the Director General of GES has agreed to give a strong warning to those regional directors to stop blocking the process.

While this news brings short-term relief for schools and students, GNAT says there is still a lot of work to be done to improve teachers’ working conditions.