Savannah College of Education: 170 Daboya staff strike over government payroll delay
About 170 staff at the Daboya-based institution say they have been left off the government payroll since the college joined the public Colleges of Education system in March 2025, forcing them to suspend work over what they describe as unbearable financial conditions.
About 170 staff of the Savannah College of Education at Daboya in the Savannah Region have withdrawn their services over the government's failure to migrate them onto the public payroll, more than a year after the institution was absorbed into the public Colleges of Education system.
The staff say they will not return to work until concrete steps are taken to place them on the Controller and Accountant-General's Department payroll.
The college was absorbed into the public system in March 2025. However, the staff say none of them has been transferred onto the government payroll since then, despite continuing to work in the hope that the issue would be resolved.
Jacob Kotochi, a lecturer at the college, said the government had fulfilled its commitment to pay student allowances but had failed to address the employment and salary concerns of staff.
“The government fulfilled one side, which was to pay the student allowances, but staff were still left out. And I can tell you that since March 2025 to now, no single staff member from the college has been put on any payroll,” he said.
Mr Kotochi said the situation had placed considerable financial pressure on staff, particularly those with families to support and additional expenses from working away from home.
He said the allowances currently available to staff were inadequate, with the highest-paid personnel receiving less than GH¢2,000 and some receiving as little as GH¢500.
“How much more to feed a family with GH¢1,800?” he asked, describing the conditions as unbearable.
Attempts to resolve the dispute
Mr Kotochi said the withdrawal of services followed several unsuccessful attempts to get the matter resolved through engagements with traditional authorities and regional officials.
He said the college's management had also supported efforts to engage relevant stakeholders, including the paramount chief in Daboya and the regional minister.
“We didn’t just get up out of the blue to embark on this industrial strike. We have tried several times to meet all relevant stakeholders,” he said.
According to him, the engagements have so far failed to produce a resolution.
The staff insist that their action will continue until their migration onto the public payroll is secured.