The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has rejected suggestions that it is delaying the payment of teachers’ promotion and upgrading arrears, saying it has processed every valid case submitted by the Ghana Education Service (GES).
CAGD says 6,079 teacher promotion cases submitted by GES had been fully processed and paid, including the applicable arrears, in the September 2026 salaries, while documentation for the vast majority of the expected cases is yet to reach the payroll administrator.
The clarification follows concerns raised by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana (PRETAG) over delays in placing promoted teachers on their appropriate salary scales.
According to CAGD, GES was expected to submit documentation covering 58,620 promoted staff, but as of September 22, 2026, only 6,079 completed cases had been received.
The department stressed that it cannot process promotion-related salary adjustments without the required documentation from the employer.
Under the government’s payroll system, GES, through the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), is responsible for initiating and effecting promotions. CAGD, which manages the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database 2 (IPPD2), then validates the promotion and processes the corresponding salary adjustment.
For a promotion to be processed, GES must submit a duly completed and signed promotion/change-of-grade input form, together with the promotion or upgrading letter issued to the affected teacher.
CAGD said these documents are not simply administrative requirements but critical controls designed to prevent “fictitious promotions, unauthorised salary adjustments, and irregular payments.”
The department said the documentation process protects the public purse while ensuring that legitimate employees receive the salaries and arrears due them.
At a meeting on August 31, 2026, involving the Education Ministry, teacher unions, GES management and CAGD, it was agreed that GES would provide CAGD with the master list of promoted staff, their promotion letters and completed input forms.
The agreement was intended to enable CAGD to process the affected teachers’ promotion arrears, with payments taking effect from January 1, 2026.
CAGD said it subsequently received the 6,079 cases from GES and processed all of them for payment in the September 2026 salaries.
“It must therefore be emphasised that CAGD has processed every valid case received from GES,” the department said.
It added that any outstanding payments are therefore linked to cases for which GES has “yet to submit the requisite documentation for validation and processing.”
CAGD explained that where the required documents have not been submitted, the transaction remains suspended until the documentation is received and successfully validated.
The department said it remains ready to work with the Education Ministry, GES, teacher unions and other stakeholders to resolve genuine payroll issues, while urging stakeholders to avoid statements that could create public anxiety or misrepresent CAGD’s role in the process.
CAGD also assured teachers that every legitimate payment due to them would be processed once the required documentation had been submitted and validated, reaffirming its commitment to transparency, accountability and prudent management of the government payroll.
