A wave of discontent swept across the University of Ghana campus on January 19, 2026, as the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana, University of Ghana Branch (UTAG-UG), took a bold public stand.
In a strongly worded statement, the Association called for the immediate resignation of the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, and his Deputy, Professor Augustine Ocloo, accusing the Commission’s top leadership of overstepping its bounds and neglecting its true mandate.
The statement, signed by Dr. Jerry Joe Harrison and Dr. Godfred B. Hagan, UTAG-UG’s President and Secretary, respectively, was more than a critique; it was a clarion call for change at the highest levels of Ghana’s tertiary education system. According to UTAG-UG, the GTEC’s leadership had consistently engaged in actions that undermined the very institutions they were tasked to support, flouting the provisions of the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023).
UTAG-UG argued that while GTEC was established to ensure quality, equitable access, transparent governance, and accountability in tertiary education, the Commission had strayed from these responsibilities. Instead, the Association charged, GTEC had become entangled in peripheral issues, leaving deep systemic problems, such as inadequate funding, deteriorating infrastructure, poor staff remuneration, and increasing workloads for lecturers, largely unaddressed.
The Association’s grievances did not stop at neglect. The statement accused GTEC of actively undermining institutional autonomy, citing instances where the Commission had reversed decisions made by legally constituted Governing Councils without proper legal authority. UTAG-UG further questioned GTEC’s role in the controversial removal of the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong, demanding transparency and legal justification for such interventions.
A particularly contentious episode highlighted in the statement was GTEC’s October 1, 2025, directive, which ordered lecturers to retire immediately upon reaching age 60, instead of allowing them to complete the academic year as per the established rollover system. UTAG-UG described this move as disruptive and unconstitutional, warning that it jeopardized academic planning and continuity. The Association also objected to GTEC’s subsequent request for submissions on post-retirement contracts, emphasizing that such agreements are matters of national negotiation and Cabinet approval, not unilateral administrative decision.
Beyond these policy clashes, UTAG-UG criticized what it described as an adversarial and “incompetent” style of leadership at GTEC, claiming it had eroded staff morale across Ghana’s public universities. The Association cited a recent incident at the University of Ghana, where GTEC threatened sanctions over an alleged increase in student levies—an action ultimately based on what proved to be a false media report.
For UTAG-UG, the pattern was clear: GTEC’s persistent interference was not only hampering academic freedom and institutional autonomy, but also threatening the very future of Ghana’s tertiary education. The Association’s warning was stark; unless Professors Jinapor Abdulai and Ocloo resigned by January 31, 2026, UTAG-UG would escalate its demands to the Chief of Staff and consider industrial action.
The Association also used its statement to push for systemic reform, calling for the immediate passage of a Legislative Instrument to guide the proper application of Act 1023, and to prevent what it termed “future abuse of power” by the Commission’s leadership.
As the statement circulated, UTAG-UG’s leaders urged their colleagues across other campuses and all stakeholders in tertiary education to join their call for accountability. Their message was clear: it was time to “restore sanity and hope” to Ghana’s public universities, and to ensure that the governance of higher education truly serves the interests of students, faculty, and the nation at large.
With tension mounting and a deadline looming, the spotlight remained firmly fixed on GTEC’s leadership and on the future direction of higher education governance in Ghana.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
