The demonstration was in response to delayed staff identification numbers and unpaid salaries
A newly trained Ghanaian teacher from the 2022 batch of Colleges of Education graduates has lambasted a police officer for allegedly threatening to assault teachers who staged a protest at the Ghana Education Service (GES) headquarters in Accra on Monday, June 23, 2025.
The demonstration was in response to delayed staff identification numbers and months of unpaid salaries.
According to the frustrated teacher, who hails from the Northern Region and has been working for the GES for the past ten months without pay, the situation has severely affected his livelihood.
He lamented that he is burdened with debts and daily living expenses, making life increasingly difficult.
In a viral video interview, the teacher alleged that a police officer confronted the group during their peaceful picketing and threatened to beat them if they crossed a designated red line.
He expressed outrage over what he perceived as disrespect from the officer, whom he described as having only a Senior High School (SHS) level of education.
“Ten months without salary, do you think you’re the one to teach me what to say? I am from the Northern Region. I didn’t travel all the way to Accra just to make noise. I came because my employer hasn’t paid me, and I’m rightfully complaining. Then you bring in a police officer who claims he will beat us. He said if we cross the red line, he will beat us,” the teacher said.
He continued, “I have gone to university and worked for ten months without pay. I am here to speak up, and you are threatening me? He didn’t speak well. If he thinks he is tough, he should take off the uniform and see what happens. I only respect the uniform,” he added.
The teacher further highlighted the financial struggles many of his colleagues are enduring, “We pay rent, we eat, we owe, and creditors keep calling us to settle our debts. We are simply here to tell our employer our grievances, and instead, you call in the police to threaten us.
“You an SHS-level police officer threatening a university graduate who hasn’t been paid for ten months. If you, as a police officer, go two months without pay, you will form an association and storm this place.”
As part of the picketing, the aggrieved teachers claimed they had submitted a formal letter outlining their concerns and waited at the GES premises for over two hours without any response or engagement from officials.
Tensions escalated when police officers arrived and issued a three-minute ultimatum for the group to disperse. The teachers, however, refused to comply, prompting a forceful removal by the officers.
Undeterred by the incident, the protesters have vowed to intensify their actions. They plan to present a petition to the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday June 24, 2025, before marching to Parliament to press home their demands.
The group maintains that they will not back down until the government addresses their concerns.
An aggrieved teacher who has not been paid for the past ten months, angrily shares his frustration over how police officers drove them out of the GES premises while they were picketing to demand their pay. pic.twitter.com/clPlSHaZh5
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) June 23, 2025
AM/KA
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