UTAG hopeful over-aged staff removal order will be rescinded

The President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Dr Eric Opoku Mensah is hopeful that government will reconsider its directive to remove all academic staff aged above 65 years from government payroll for public universities.

According to him, the directive which comes into effect on October 31 will be detrimental to the state of research and teaching in public universities and the government has realised this.

He warned that the educational system at the tertiary level will face challenges as a result when the first batch of students from the Double Track Senior High School programme was admitted into public universities, some of which are already under-staffed.

"So far as I am concerned, there are talks going on and I am hoping that this will be rescinded in order not to create any confusion," Dr Mensah said.

"We looking forward to 2020 receiving students from the Free SHS and that would affect the numbers in our universities".

He said the "unpopular" policy would not help universities because the world over, ageing professors accomplished in research are kept on.

"We really looking forward to cancelling this policy. I surely believe something will be done, I don't want to sound negative because a lot of deliberations have been done in the background".