Tutors of the Savannah College of Education at Daboya in the Savannah Region began the new year not with celebration, but with deep frustration and uncertainty, as months of unpaid salaries continue to haunt their livelihoods.
Nearly a year after the college was formally absorbed into the public tertiary education system and accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), tutors say they have yet to receive a single salary from the government.
The prolonged delay has left many educators struggling to make ends meet, even as their students begin to enjoy government subsidies and monthly allowances.
The institution, which previously operated as a private college, was taken over by the state around March 2025. Following the transition, students were duly migrated onto the public system and processed for allowances, aligning them with their counterparts in public colleges of education nationwide.
Tutors, however, tell a very different story.
Despite having their academic certificates evaluated and cleared by GTEC, the tutors say they remain in limbo—uncertain when, or if, they will be placed on the government payroll.
Many now describe their nights as sleepless, weighed down by financial insecurity and fading hope.
Concerned resident Yakubu Abdulai expressed worry over the situation, warning that the continued neglect of tutors could eventually affect the quality of teaching and learning at the institution. “You cannot expect people under this level of stress to deliver their best,” he noted.
One tutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said several colleagues had been removed from the payrolls of their former institutions following the transition, leaving them effectively jobless. “We are being treated like people without work, yet we report to class every day,” he lamented.
Another tutor, a woman who also requested anonymity, described the toll the situation has taken on family life. She said many tutors now feel increasingly irrelevant in their own homes, as their efforts bring in no income. According to her, some colleagues have already begun seeking alternative opportunities, while others have abandoned the college altogether.
Students are not oblivious to the hardship. Nafisa, a female student of the college, said students sympathise deeply with their tutors and hope for a swift resolution. She questioned why the only institution mandated to train teachers in the President’s home region should be subjected to such prolonged neglect.
As of now, there is no official explanation for the nearly year-long delay in paying the tutors. Attempts to obtain clarification from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission proved unsuccessful, further deepening the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the affected staff.
For the tutors of the Savannah College of Education, the new year has arrived with unanswered questions, empty pockets, and a growing sense that their sacrifices have gone unnoticed.
Source: www.kumasimail.com/Ayamga Bawa Fatawu
