The pressure on the leadership of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has intensified as the University Teachers Association of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology branch (UTAG‑KNUST), has formally thrown its weight behind calls for the removal of the Commission’s Director‑General and Deputy Director‑General.
In a strongly worded statement issued after an emergency executive meeting on January 26, 2026, UTAG‑KNUST announced its full alignment with the earlier January 19 declaration by UTAG‑UG, which accused the GTEC leadership of presiding over a collapsing regulatory environment and weaponizing the Commission for personal vendettas rather than national academic advancement.
According to UTAG‑KNUST, GTEC has “failed in its core mandate” to safeguard quality tertiary education across public universities. The association paints a troubling picture of deteriorating academic infrastructure, worsening student‑lecturer ratios, and administrative confusion that has left campuses in disarray.
A tour of laboratories and lecture theatres, the statement notes, reveals facilities in “dire need of renovation, retooling, and expansion”—conditions UTAG‑KNUST argues should have been prevented by a proactive and competent regulator.
The association further highlights several systemic failures:
- Student‑Lecturer Ratios (SLR), a benchmark set by GTEC itself, continue to worsen with no corrective plan in sight.
- Post‑retirement contract and office‑holding extensions remain muddled due to the Commission’s inability to clearly distinguish between the two categories, creating tension and uncertainty across campuses.
- Retired lecturers mid‑academic year are unable to exit their roles because replacements have not been recruited, leaving both faculty and students stranded.
- Finance Directors across universities have been left without guidance on whether to remove affected lecturers from payrolls, creating administrative paralysis.
UTAG‑KNUST argues that these failures reflect not isolated missteps but a pattern of incompetence at the highest levels of GTEC leadership. The association insists that the continued stay of the Director‑General and his deputy threatens industrial harmony and undermines the integrity of Ghana’s tertiary education system.
The statement calls on the Chief of Staff to advise President John Dramani Mahama to act swiftly by relieving the two officials of their duties. It further urges the embattled GTEC leaders to “do the needful” by voluntarily resigning by January 31, 2026, warning that UTAG will “advise itself” should the deadline pass without action.
The release is signed by Prof. Eric K. K. Abavare, President of UTAG‑KNUST, and Prof. Akwasi Afrifa Acheampong, Secretary of the branch.
See details in the PDF attached:
