Legon UTAG threatens industrial action as it calls for exit of GTEC Boss and Deputy
The University Teachers’ Association of Ghana, University of Ghana Branch, has called for the resignation of the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, and his Deputy, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, accusing them of persistent administrative overreach and actions that it says are undermining Ghana’s tertiary education system.
In a statement issued on January 19, 2026, UTAG-UG said it had taken note of what it described as “various actions” by the leadership of GTEC that continue to negatively affect public tertiary education institutions, contrary to the mandate of the Commission under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023).
The association recalled that GTEC is mandated to ensure quality standards in teaching, learning and research, promote equitable access, strengthen transparent governance, and foster a culture of lifelong learning and inquiry. However, UTAG-UG argued that the Commission had “veered off these mandates” and failed to uphold its statutory responsibilities.
According to the statement, instead of addressing systemic challenges such as inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, and lecturer remuneration, GTEC has focused on what UTAG-UG described as “tangential and sometimes frivolous actions”, including pursuing individuals over alleged fake degrees, while remaining indifferent to issues that pose “existential threats” to tertiary education in Ghana.
The association questioned the Commission’s performance on core regulatory benchmarks, asking about prescribed student-to-teacher ratios, infrastructure standards, and the mechanisms GTEC has put in place to ensure compliance across public tertiary institutions.
UTAG-UG further accused the leadership of GTEC of overstepping its legal authority and undermining institutional governance, citing the removal of the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast as an example. It asked under what specific provision of Act 1023 the Commission exercised such power.
The statement also raised concerns about what it described as confusion between GTEC’s advisory and regulatory roles, alleging that governing councils of public universities have been rendered “useless and powerless” and that decisions lawfully taken by councils are being overturned by the Commission without clear legal basis.
UTAG-UG highlighted the impact of a three-year freeze on recruitment clearance, noting that it has increased lecturers’ workload, affected staff well-being, and reduced the quality of education, while procurement bottlenecks continue to hamper teaching and research. It said GTEC has failed to act as an advocate for public tertiary education in the face of these challenges.
A major point of contention, according to the association, was a directive issued by GTEC in October 2025 requiring lecturers to retire immediately upon attaining the age of 60, rather than at the end of the academic year. UTAG-UG described this as an administrative overreach that could disrupt academic programmes and supervision, and questioned the legal basis for subsequent requests for post-retirement contracts.
The association stressed that post-retirement contracts are conditions of service negotiated and approved by government and cabinet, insisting that “they are entitlements, not privileges to be decided at the whims of any individual”.
UTAG-UG also criticised what it described as an adversarial leadership style by Prof. Jinapor and Prof. Ocloo, saying it has negatively affected staff morale across public tertiary institutions. It cited an incident involving a false media report on fee increments at the University of Ghana, which it said GTEC acted upon without verification, thereby misleading the public.
“These recurring mishaps are not accidental – they represent a pattern of incompetent administration,” the statement said, warning that unchecked actions could have dire consequences for academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and national development.
UTAG-UG said it had engaged GTEC leadership on several occasions to propose collaborative approaches to improving tertiary education governance, but noted that these engagements had yielded little result.
As a result, the association demanded that Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai and Prof. Augustine Ocloo “resign honourably by 31st of January 2026”, warning that failure to do so would lead to a petition to the Chief of Staff for their removal and possible industrial action. It also called for the immediate enactment of a Legislative Instrument to guide the implementation of Act 1023 to prevent future abuse of power.
The statement urged other UTAG branches and sister institutions to join what it described as a fight to “restore sanity and hope” in Ghana’s public education institutions.
