The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has appealed to government to fast-track ongoing validation processes to facilitate the payment of long-standing salary arrears of some 60,000 teachers.

Government set an April 15 deadline for the validation process to be completed, but that deadline has elapsed.

Speaking to Class News, Peter Tetteh Korda, GNAT Public Relations Officer, blamed the delay on the many breaks during the process.

“The breaks have been disturbing the whole process. When they met at Mensvic Hotel, they had to break for a while. Then they moved to Apam; they had to break too,” he stated.

“Now they are going to reconvene at the GNAT premises at Nungua, so, if the breaks [which have been the problem] can be removed, so that we take three, four, five weeks, and they finish everything off.”

He suggested that authorities in charge of the validation process complete the process without having to break.

“I will suggest that the breaks are removed and they continue until they finish. As I speak to you, about only 13,268 teachers have been cleared to receive their outstanding salaries, and, so far, 29,000 teachers’ documents have been worked upon. … We believe that if it is made to progress without any breaks, it will take away this burden that we are facing now,” he said.