The Ministry of Education has renewed its appeal to striking pre-tertiary teachers to return to the classroom, despite the unions’ refusal to call off their indefinite industrial action.

The renewed appeal follows the decision by the teacher unions to reject an earlier call by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu for them to resume teaching.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) said Monday’s meeting with the Education Minister and other government officials produced no new commitments beyond assurances previously given to the unions.

“It has been the old story of promises upon promises. Where we have reached at the moment, we are not taking promises. We want action.”

The union subsequently directed its members to continue staying away from the classroom until government takes concrete action on their outstanding demands.

Despite the unions’ position, the Education Ministry says it remains committed to resolving the issues and restoring teaching and learning.

In an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse on Monday, September 28, the Education Ministry’s Press Secretary, Hashmin Mohammed, said government’s priority is to get teachers back into the classroom in order to protect the academic calendar.

“We want to continue to appeal to the striking teachers to return back to the classroom so that we can be able to let teaching and learning continue in the interest of our young learners and the nation.”

The Ministry said the Ghana Education Service (GES) has also been directed to furnish the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) with data on teachers who are yet to receive their promotion-related payments.

It said the data will enable CAGD to process the outstanding payments.

The Ministry explained that some of the concerns raised by the unions go beyond its direct mandate, leading to Monday’s expanded engagement involving the Ministry of Labour, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and CAGD.

According to the Mr Mohammed, the various stakeholders left the meeting with specific responsibilities towards resolving the teachers’ concerns.

The unions are demanding, among other things, payment of outstanding promotion-related arrears, progress on negotiations for a new Collective Agreement and implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.

The indefinite strike began on Friday, September 25, after a September 24 deadline given to government to address the unions’ concerns passed without a resolution.