A deputy minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the Ghana Education Service is surprised at the posture of NAGRAT following their strike action over unpaid salary arrears.

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) declared an indefinite strike Wednesday, April 4, 2018.

The action is in protest of government’s continuous refusal to pay six years salaries in arrears owed its members.

The declaration comes days after final year students in Senior High Schools began writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations.

Speaking at a press conference, President of the Association, Eric Angel Carbonu, who declared the strike noted that despite countless pledges by the government to prioritise the teacher in the education sector, no action has been taken in that regard.

“Instead what see are…maneuvering and manipulation employed by the Ministry of Finance and the government to drag its feet and possibly refuse to pay the arrears at all,” he said.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Thursday, the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP said the monies have been paid and will hit the accounts of the teachers in the course of the week.

“GHC40 million has been released as at the end of March and the controller general has assured them that monies would be paid by 4th and 5th of this month. The delay in paying would need to be worked on and made to work at speed. We have done what is due on our side. The GES is the employer of NAGRAT and to my understanding, the GES have made NAGRAT aware of the release of the money. The GES has been updated on the issue and they are surprised with what is going on,” he noted.

Meanwhile, NAGRAT says the ministry has not engaged them since they decided to embark on their industrial action.

“The ministry have not engaged us since we issued our intentions to go on strike,” Carbonu told Morning Starr.