Teachers in Ghana sat their promotion exams in December last year to meet a deadline set by the government’s Finance Ministry, the National President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Prosper Tackie, has said.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, Tackie explained that the Finance Ministry granted a clearance that was due to expire at the end of the 2019 budget year. Teachers had to complete their promotion exams before the new budget year started to keep the clearance valid.
“Last year, we were compelled to go and write the exams in December. The simple reason being that government had given a clearance,” he said. “That is the Minister of Finance, and if we do not write, I think the clearance was going to expire going into the new budget year.”
Tackie said the timing meant teachers had to take their promotion exams while most people were celebrating Christmas. “So our members went in for the promotion exams in December when others were celebrating the Christmas festivities,” he said.
The issue has caused confusion about how many teachers were involved in the promotion and payment backlog. Tackie clarified the numbers, saying the figure of 58,000 refers only to teachers in higher ranks. Other teachers in lower ranks were also promoted, bringing the total to more than 80,000.
“The truth is that we have teachers in higher ranks, which the number I think adds up to the 58,000, and then we have others in lower ranks who are also equally promoted,” he said. “So these two numbers add up together to get the over 80,000 teachers we are talking of.”
He suggested that the Controller and Accountant General’s Department may have only considered the 58,000 figure, leaving out the other promoted teachers in their calculations.
Tackie stressed the importance of these promotions, especially for teachers nearing retirement. “Most of our teachers, especially those who are about to retire, whatever promotion they gain, have a consequential effect on their retirement, and for that matter, we don’t joke with our promotions,” he said.
Some teachers were later captured in the promotion process in February 2020, but their results and promotions remained unresolved as of March and April. Tackie said the delay was a concern.
He recalled that the issue was raised publicly when former President John Mahama was invited to commission the PESCAN at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre.
“When he came before, he raised the issue that our promotion was still pending, and that it has an effect on teachers who are about to retire,” Tackie said.
The December exams and the subsequent delays in processing promotions have left many teachers waiting for their rightful pay adjustments. The Finance Ministry’s clearance deadline forced the exams into the Christmas period, disrupting the usual calendar for teachers’ promotions and payments.
According to Joy Online.
