The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) are migrated onto the University salary structure.
At a meeting held in Accra on Friday to address the ongoing industrial action, the President of CETAG, Maxwell Bunu, stated that the leadership would consult its National Council for the next course of action. He emphasised that the executive alone cannot make a unilateral decision to end the strike without input from the council.
The Director-General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, described the timing of the strike as unfortunate and disruptive. He expressed concern that with the release of the WASSCE results and the commencement of the admission process, students would be unfairly impacted if the colleges remained shut.
Prof. Abdulai appealed to CETAG to expedite their consultation process, urging that it should take hours rather than days to save the academic calendar. He stressed the importance of the teachers’ services and warned that any further disruption would negatively affect students.
The meeting, which included representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, concluded with the parties pledging to provide positive updates to the public during their next engagement.
CETAG had declared the strike following an Emergency National Council meeting on December 30, 2024. In a statement issued on December 31, the association explained that the strike was prompted by the government’s repeated violation of signed agreements and roadmaps, including a compulsory arbitration award issued by the National Labour Commission (NLC) on May 2, 2023.
The statement also referenced prior notices of intended strike action served on September 26, 2024, and December 23, 2024, which the NLC failed to address adequately.
The ongoing strike continues to disrupt academic activities in colleges across the country, with many stakeholders hoping for a swift resolution to prevent further harm to the education sector.
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