Education policy analyst and Executive Director of the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), Dr Peter Anti, has defended the decision by pre-tertiary teacher unions to maintain their nationwide strike, arguing that government failed to act with urgency to address their concerns.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Tuesday, October 6, Dr Anti said the teachers had given government sufficient notice about their concerns, including the need to renegotiate their collective agreement, but meaningful action only intensified after the unions embarked on the industrial action.

“Nobody should blame the teachers for the position that they are taking," he said.

According to him, the collective agreement expired in June 2026, but the teacher unions had approached the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) as far back as late 2025 to begin discussions on its renegotiation.

He said the delay in addressing the issues contributed to the current impasse.

Dr Anti also argued that the processing of outstanding promotion claims demonstrates the effectiveness of the strike in compelling government to act with urgency.

He said although more than 51,000 promotion claims have reportedly been validated from a backlog of over 80,000, validation does not amount to payment.

He warned that calling off the strike before the outstanding issues are resolved could result in further delays in payments and negotiations.

According to him, previous experiences show that when teachers have suspended industrial action based on government assurances, some of the issues have remained unresolved.

“If they call off the strike now, then for the next two, three, four, five months, these same meetings that are being held, payments will now drag and they will not get the expected response that they need.”

Dr Anti therefore urged government to use the current negotiations to settle the outstanding issues and provide concrete responses to the unions.

He said if government wants teachers to return to the classroom, it must demonstrate sufficient progress on the concerns that triggered the strike.

“If they want the teachers to go back to the classroom badly as we all want them to do, I think that they can use this week to settle all their outstanding issues.”

He added that the teachers would return to the classroom once they are satisfied with government’s response to their demands.

His comments follow renewed negotiations between the teacher unions, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) aimed at resolving the concerns that triggered the nationwide strike by pre-tertiary teachers.

The talks ended on Tuesday, October 6, without an agreement, with the parties expected to reconvene on Wednesday, October 7.