President John Mahama has assured teachers that his administration will revisit the Single Spine Pay Policy and tackle concerns surrounding the three-tier pension system.
His commitment comes amid growing calls for improved remuneration, stronger investment in education, and safer working conditions for teachers.
The pledge was made at the 54th National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), held at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
GNAT President Reverend Isaac Owusu, addressing the gathering, stressed the urgency of reforms to protect the welfare of educators.
“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 often underappreciated and overburdened,” Rev Owusu said.
He added: “We face an ongoing crisis regarding the condition 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.”
Reverend Owusu outlined four pressing priorities:
- Review of the Single Spine Pay Policy
- Adequate funding for basic education
- Pension reform
- Teacher safety and protection against assaults
Declaring zero tolerance for attacks on teachers, he warned that schools could be shut down if such incidents persist:
“We are declaring that this year, 2026, we are declaring a zero tolerance for teacher assault and brutality. Should any individual or group attack any teacher in Ghana without cause, we shall invoke the spirit and solidarity of ‘touch one, touch all.’ If we have to close down schools, we will close down schools.”
Responding to the concerns, President Mahama admitted flaws in the current pay structure, describing the Single Spine system as “very crooked” and promising a comprehensive review.
“Everybody is unhappy with the spine, and so of course 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 so that they can give off their best in terms of what we are supposed to do.”
On pensions, he pledged to establish a working group to strengthen the scheme and ensure workers feel secure as they near retirement.
Mahama also condemned assaults on teachers, calling them criminal acts, and assured GNAT of his full support:
“As for assault on teachers, I am with you one hundred percent. We will deal with it.”
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