President John Mahama has assured teachers that his government will review the Single Spine Pay Policy and address concerns over the three-tier pension scheme.
The assurances come amid growing calls for improved salaries, better funding, and safer working environments for educators.
President Mahama made the remarks at the 54th National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
Speaking at the conference, Reverend Isaac Owusu, President of GNAT, emphasised the need for urgent reforms to safeguard teachers’ welfare.
“To celebrate these achievements, Your Excellency, we must not shy away from confronting the present challenges that continue to hinder our progress. The dedication of our teachers is unparalleled, yet they remain the backbone of the system and are often underappreciated and overburdened,” Rev. Owusu said.
He added, “We face an ongoing crisis regarding the conditions of service, where many teachers struggle with inadequate salaries that do not reflect their hard work and dedication. It is incumbent upon us to address these issues head-on.”
Rev. Owusu outlined four critical areas for immediate action:
- Review of the Single Spine Pay Policy
- Adequate funding for basic education
- Pension reform
- Teacher safety and protection against assaults
He also declared zero tolerance for attacks on teachers, warning that schools may be closed if assaults continue:
Responding to the concerns, President Mahama acknowledged challenges with the current Single Spine Pay Policy, describing it as “very crooked” and promising a comprehensive review.
“Everybody is unhappy with the spine, and so of course the TUC raised it with us and asked if we could look at the whole salary structure again. We’re very willing to do that so that we are able to remunerate people better and enable them to give their best in their roles,” he said.
On pensions, the president pledged to assemble a working team to review and improve the system, ensuring workers feel secure as they approach retirement.
He also described assaults on teachers as criminal and assured GNAT that “as for assault on teachers, I am with you one hundred percent. We will deal with it.”
