Constitute governing councils of public universities - Minority urges govt

The Minority in Parliament has appealed to the government to constitute the governing councils of public universities to facilitate smooth teaching and learning.

It said currently public universities across the country did not have properly constituted councils and that was affecting the governance of such apex institutions of learning.

According to the Minority, the current councils in place had completed their tenure of office and by law newly constituted councils should have been put in place in January 2021.

Do the needful

Speaking on the floor last Friday, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr Clement Abass Apaak, appealed: “Mr Speaker, this is June and this is yet to be done.

I, therefore, wish to appeal to the government to do the needful by ensuring that the universities have properly constituted councils so that teaching and learning and the governance of our apex institutions of learning can go on smoothly.”

Non-functioning

The governing councils of the universities became defunct following the Presidential Transitions Act 2012, which states that all statutory boards and committees are dissolved before the coming into force of a new government.

Even though the government provided a five-month extension to allow for the proper reconstitution of the councils, it failed to meet its May 31 deadline, leaving the schools with no legitimate body to issue degrees, approve appointments and promotions, among others.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic outside the Chamber, Dr Apaak, who is also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Builsa South, said the delayed reconstitution of the governing council lay with the Minister of Education, as he had to appoint a government representative onto the councils.

“All the stakeholders of public universities are available but it is the government that is delaying in appointing a representative to those boards,” he said.

Composition of councils

Giving insight into the composition of governing councils, Dr Apaak, for instance, said the governing body of the University of Ghana consisted of the Chancellor, the Chairperson, the Vice-Chancellor, four persons appointed by the President, taking into account the need for gender balance, expertise in finance and expertise in management.

It also includes one representative of the alumni of the university, two representatives of convocation, one of whom is from the non-teaching staff, one representative of the National Council for Tertiary Education nominated by the Council for Tertiary Education, a Vice-Chancellor of an African university appointed by the council, and an elected representative of the heads of second cycle institutions in Ghana.

The others are four other persons appointed by council from outside the university, two of whom are women, one representative of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, one representative of undergraduate students of the university elected by the Students Representative Council, one representative of postgraduate students of the university branch of the Graduate Students Association of Ghana and one representative of the Teachers and Education Workers Union.

The council shall ensure the realisation of the aims and objectives of the university, determine the strategic direction of the university, monitor, evaluate and implement the resultant policies and ensure the creation of an environment of equal opportunity for members of the university without regard to ethnicity, sex, race, religious belief or political affiliation.