Industrial actions turn universities into 'ghost towns'
Some public universities are gradually turning into 'ghost towns' due to ongoing industrial actions by several labour unions in the country.
Advertisement
The strike actions have led to an indefinite postponement of the 2024/2025 academic year, initially supposed to begin in mid-September.
Unions such as the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana, Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) are on strike.
Consequently, management of the affected universities: University of Ghana (UG), University of Media, Arts and Communications (UniMAC), and University for Development Studies (UDS), among others, issued separate statements announcing the postponement of their reopening dates.
Visit to UG, GIJ
A visit to the University of Ghana (UG) in Accra by the Daily Graphic team revealed minimal academic activities on campus, as the lecture halls were empty.
With the exception of junior staff who include cleaners, security officers and labourers who were going about their duties, none of the various employee groupings were on the campus to work.
Students, initially scheduled to report on September 26, 2024, to begin lectures on September 29, 2024, were absent due to the postponement.
Usually bustling areas such as lecture halls, the library, banking square, canteen, halls, taxi stations, and administration offices were eerily quiet.
Other Trending Stories
![Fatimatu Abubakar (5th from right), Minister of Information, with Tawfik Jelassi (6th from left), Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO; Justice Kwesi A. Ofori Atta [Rtd] (3rd from right), Board Chairman, Right To Information Commission, and some dignitaries after the closing ceremony in Accra. Picture: ELVIS NII NOI DOWUONA](https://graphiconline.com//images/thumbnails/raxo/ramp/tb-w120-h80-crop-int-6f791e911c8f54ea3f0c20ea4cabec49.jpg "Let’s use access to information in building resilient societies — Information Minister")
The unusual quietness could be felt immediately one stepped foot on the Academic Freedom Road from Okponglo all the way to the Legon campus.
The idle nature of commercial drivers at the taxi station, absence of vehicles on the streets, low patronage at Balm Library and the lack of patrons at the Bush Canteen were a clear indication of the situation on campus.
The Graphic team noticed that some of the striking employees who stay far away, but have their children in basic schools either on the campus or nearby, bring them to school alright, but sit idly around their offices until it’s time to pick them up from school.
A similar situation was observed when the team also visited the two campuses of UniMAC-GIJ.
Alarm
A junior staff member of UG, Ambrose Kuubeterzie, said the strike situation had raised an alarm in the country and was making learning very difficult for students.
"Many students report that lectures are not being conducted as scheduled, and lecturers are also failing to show up in class due to this strike.
"We plead with the government and university administrations to come together to call off this strike and restore the integrity of the educational system," he said.
A salesperson at News Point Publication, a stationery shop near the Balm Library, Prince Addo, stated that the strike action was affecting sales as students were yet to report for school.
"I pay rent to the school because my shop is on the school compound. Due to the strike, students cannot come to campus to buy, and my annual rent is almost GH¢3,900. We hear students' portals are closed, and the students are not able to access course registration," he said.
A continuing student at the university, Mabel Obor, explained that the strike had affected students academically because they should be in class learning, but due to the strike, they were still at home, and the reopening date had been postponed.
"So far, no one knows when school will resume, and it is affecting us. Our parents want us to be great people in the future, but our leaders are holding us back.
"Because of the strike, we are still at home instead of being in class, which really affects our academics," she said.
Advertisement
An undergraduate student at UG, Micheal Oware, said the school situation was not helping students because lecturers were not teaching, and they were not even given slides to read, which would academically affect them.
Background
The postponement is part of a broader wave of industrial actions sweeping across the country, with several unions expressing dissatisfaction over working conditions, unresolved pension deductions, and unfulfilled government promises.
Five unions are already on strike, including the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana, which halted work on September 16, 2024. The Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) joined the strike on September 20, 2024, highlighting delays in the payment of vehicle maintenance and off-campus allowances, as well as issues surrounding tier two pension deductions.