Trained Teachers Kneel to Plead with President Mahama in Kumasi Over 9-Month Salary Arrears

• Some newly posted professional teachers protested in Kumasi to demand nine months of their unpaid salary arrears
• The teachers, kneeling on the streets, appealed to President John Mahama during the Adwumawura programme launch
• Despite submitting their documents, many of the teachers said they were still unpaid and pleaded for intervention

A group of newly posted teachers staged a protest in Kumasi on Monday, April 28, to demand payment of their nine-month salary arrears.

The teachers thronged the streets to welcome President John Mahama to the Ashanti Region with a demand for the payments to be settled.

The President was in Kumasi to launch one of his administration’s key flagship initiatives, the Adwumawura programme.

In a video circulating on social media, the teachers were seen on their knees begging for President Mahama's intervention while his convoy drove through the streets to the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Speaking to a content creator, one of the teachers said that they were issued their clearance in July 2024 and subsequently received their appointment letter on August 1, the same year.

According to the young man, because schools were on vacation at the time they received their appointment, the government, then led by Nana Akufo-Addo, asked them to resume work on September 1, 2024.

However, he said after several months of working, some of their colleagues received their first three months' salaries in December 2024, while the majority were yet to be paid after nine months.

"We have submitted all the necessary documents for our money to be paid. In December 2024, some of our colleagues received their salaries, but the majority of us were not paid anything. Some of us also did not get our staff ID numbers. After waiting for so long, we followed up at the education regional office, where they told us the documents had been submitted to the national office, and they promised to work on it," he said.

Watch the video below:

After this meeting, he said they went back to the regional office to follow up again on their salaries, but the money was not forthcoming, which pushed them to seek the intervention of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene.

All these efforts, according to the young man, had not borne the expected outcome as their salaries remained unpaid for nine months. This, he stated, informed their action to draw the President’s attention to their plight.

What is the Adwumawura programme?

The Adwumawura programme is an initiative of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), aimed at creating opportunities for young people to set up businesses.

The NDC-led government intends to create at least 10,000 Ghanaian youth-owned businesses every year over the next four years, in line with its 2024 campaign promise to support start-ups as a bid to reduce the unemployment situation in the country.

Beneficiaries under the Adwumawura programme will be offered business development training, access to funding, mentorship, market support, and year-round business advisory services.

Another TikTok video from the teachers' protest in Kumasi is below:

Man begs Mahama to introduce teacher uniforms

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported on an appeal to President Mahama to introduce a national teachers uniform.

According to a young Ghanaian man, teachers were spending part of ther meagre salaries on buying clothes.

Many who came across the video thronged the comment section to react to his request to the President.

Source: YEN.com.gh