The Savannah Regional Minister, Salisu Be-Awuribe, has announced plans to migrate all teaching and non-teaching staff of the Savannah College of Education in Daboya onto the government payroll in the 2027 Budget, as he moves to resolve an industrial action over their employment status and remuneration.
The announcement follows a decision by staff of the College to withdraw their services over government’s failure to place them on the public payroll, more than a year after the institution was absorbed into the public College of Education system.
In a statement responding to the strike, Mr Be-Awuribe disclosed that the Ministry of Finance had authorised the creation of a Management Unit for the College, describing it as one of the critical steps towards resolving the staff migration challenges.
“Authorization has been given by the Ministry of Finance for a Management Unit to be created for the Savannah College of Education this week,” he said.
He further revealed that plans were far advanced to absorb all teaching and non-teaching staff into the public payroll through the 2027 Budget, expected to be presented by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson in November.
“Plans are far advanced to absorb all the Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff of the College in the 2027 Budget,” the Minister stated.
The College has already secured recruitment clearance for 15 staff members from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), but the approval is due to expire on October 31, 2026.
Mr Be-Awuribe said the government was taking steps to address the outstanding concerns, including directing the College to continue using its internally generated funds to pay staff allowances pending their official enrolment onto the government payroll.
“Meanwhile, the School has also been directed to continue using their IGF to pay the allowances of the Staff it recruited in the very manner they were being paid prior to their absorption,” he said.
The Minister also announced that President John Dramani Mahama had directed him to meet the striking workers, College management and students on Saturday, October 31, to discuss the situation.
A meeting with staff and management has been scheduled for 3:00pm, followed by an engagement with students at 4:00pm.
“To the striking staff, plans were far advanced to address all your concerns and the concrete actions laid would be communicated to you at the meeting,” he assured.
He appealed to the workers to return to work ahead of the engagement, pledging to meet them on behalf of the President and the Minister of Education.
The workers, comprising members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Conference of Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Associations of Ghana (CENTSAG), announced their decision to lay down their tools in a letter dated October 28, 2026.
They said they had continued working since the College’s absorption into the public system in March 2025 despite the absence of arrangements to place them on the government payroll.
The associations argued that government support for students and infrastructure development could not constitute a complete transition to public status without addressing staff welfare and remuneration.
They are demanding the immediate establishment of the College’s Management Unit, action on the recruitment clearance for the 15 staff members and a definite timeline for migrating the remaining workforce.
Government outlines infrastructure interventions
Defending government’s record, Mr Be-Awuribe said the Mahama administration had taken steps to strengthen teacher education infrastructure in the Savannah Region.
He recalled that President Mahama, during a campaign visit to the region in November 2024, visited the College and pledged to absorb it into the public system if elected.
According to the Minister, the pledge was fulfilled on March 15, 2025, barely 70 days after the President’s inauguration.
He said the College’s student population had since grown to approximately 1,800, with students benefiting from allowances and other entitlements enjoyed by their counterparts in public Colleges of Education.
These include stress-free and disability allowances, while the institution has also produced two graduating batches in 2025 and 2026.
Mr Be-Awuribe further disclosed that government had awarded a contract for the construction of a new campus for the College along the Daboya-Busunu Road, near the uncompleted North Gonja District Agenda 111 Hospital.
He said construction was ongoing and the institution would relocate to the new site upon completion, ending its reliance on the borrowed facilities it currently occupies.
The Minister also announced that another College of Education was being developed at Doli, near Bole, following the review and re-award of a previously abandoned project to Mawums Construction Limited.
The project, initially started in 2015 under the Mahama administration, stalled after the NDC left office in 2016.
Its completion, he said, would bring the number of public Colleges of Education in the Savannah Region to two.
The outcome of Saturday’s engagement is expected to determine whether the striking workers will suspend their industrial action and resume academic and administrative activities.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
