The University Teachers’ Association of Ghana, University of Ghana Branch (UTAG-UG), has called for the immediate resignation of the Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), citing alleged administrative overreach and mismanagement that undermine public tertiary education.
In a statement released today, UTAG-UG criticized Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, Director-General, and Prof. Augustine Ocloo, Deputy Director-General, for actions that, according to the association, contradict the mandate of GTEC under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023).
UTAG-UG claims that instead of focusing on the commission’s core responsibilities—ensuring quality teaching and research, promoting equitable access, and fostering good governance—GTEC has diverted attention to “tangential and frivolous” issues such as pursuing fake degree holders, while neglecting systemic challenges affecting tertiary institutions. These challenges, the association says, include insufficient budgetary support, poor infrastructure, low lecturer remuneration, and increasing workloads.
The association raised several pressing concerns for GTEC’s leadership, including: the current student-to-teacher ratios in tertiary institutions, the state of infrastructure, and mechanisms to enforce educational standards. UTAG-UG also questioned the legal basis for GTEC’s intervention in institutional governance, citing the controversial removal of the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong.
“The actions of GTEC have effectively rendered Governing Councils powerless and reduced Vice-Chancellors to nonentities on their campuses,” UTAG-UG said. “Decisions legally taken by these councils are being overturned without clear legal authority, undermining institutional autonomy and academic freedom.”
UTAG-UG also condemned recent GTEC directives on lecturer retirement and post-retirement contracts, arguing that these actions constitute administrative overreach and threaten academic continuity. The association highlighted incidents such as the supposed demand for the University of Ghana to reverse a student levy increase—later revealed to be based on false media reports—as evidence of “incompetent administration” that misleads the public.
UTAG-UG warned that the leadership style of Prof. Jinapor and Prof. Ocloo, described as adversarial and confrontational, has negatively affected staff morale and threatens the overall quality of tertiary education in Ghana.
Demands and Next Steps
UTAG-UG has set a deadline of 31st January 2026 for the resignation of both GTEC leaders. Should they fail to step down, the association has pledged to escalate the matter through petitions to the Chief of Staff and, if necessary, industrial action. UTAG-UG also calls for the immediate enactment of a Legislative Instrument to guide the implementation of Act 1023 and prevent future abuses of power by GTEC leadership.
The association urged other UTAG campuses and educational stakeholders to join in advocating for transparency, accountability, and the restoration of institutional sanity in Ghana’s public tertiary education system.
