About 170 teaching and non-teaching staff of the Savannah College of Education at Daboya in the Savannah Region have withdrawn their services over delays in migrating them onto the government payroll, more than a year after the institution was absorbed into the public Colleges of Education system.
The staff say they will not resume work until concrete steps are taken to secure their placement on the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department payroll, describing their continued exclusion as financially unbearable.
At a joint press conference in Daboya, the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Association of Ghana (CENTSAG) said the transition into the public education system could not be considered complete while employees remained without government-paid salaries or a clear timeline for their migration.
The associations stressed that their action was not intended to undermine the government’s efforts but to draw attention to unresolved concerns over staff remuneration, recruitment and payroll migration, which they say threaten their welfare and the smooth administration of the college.
The Savannah College of Education was absorbed into the public system in March 2025. However, the staff claim that none of its employees has been migrated onto the government payroll since the transition.
Jacob Kotochi, a lecturer at the institution, said staff had continued working in anticipation of a resolution despite mounting financial challenges.
He noted that although the government had fulfilled its commitment to pay student allowances, the employment and salary concerns of staff remained unresolved.
“The government fulfilled one side, which was to pay the student allowances, but staff were still left out. And I can tell you that since March 2025 to now, no single staff member from the college has been put on any payroll,” he said.
Staff struggle to support families
Mr Kotochi said the prolonged delay had placed considerable financial pressure on employees, particularly those with families to support and additional expenses associated with working away from home.
He explained that the allowances currently available to staff were inadequate, with the highest-paid employees receiving less than GH¢2,000 and some taking home as little as GH¢500.
“How much more to feed a family with GH¢1,800?” he asked, describing the situation as unbearable.
The staff say their financial difficulties have continued despite the institution’s transition into the public education system, leaving them uncertain about when they will begin receiving regular government salaries.
Previous appeals yield no results
Mr Kotochi said the decision to withdraw services followed several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter through engagements with relevant stakeholders, including traditional authorities and regional officials.
According to him, staff and management had approached various authorities in search of a lasting solution, but their efforts had produced no meaningful results.
He explained that management had led engagements with the paramount chief of Daboya, the overlord and the Regional Minister, among other stakeholders.
“We didn’t just get up out of the blue to embark on this industrial strike. We have tried several times to meet all relevant stakeholders. Management even led us; they went to the paramount chief in Daboya. We’ve been told that the overlord, we went; I think the regional minister, all the key holders we went, we engaged them, and still we are not seeing any result,” he said.
He maintained that the withdrawal of services would continue until concrete assurances were provided regarding the migration of staff onto the government payroll.
The industrial action has renewed concerns over the unresolved employment and remuneration issues surrounding the college’s integration into the public Colleges of Education system in March 2025.
The staff are calling on the government and relevant authorities to urgently address their concerns, regularise their employment and establish a sustainable salary arrangement.
