The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has announced that it has withdrawn the policy directives on retirement and post-retirement contracts for academic senior members of public universities.

The national tertiary education regulator made this known through a formal statement dated April 27, following a meeting with the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, and the leadership of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).

“Following a meeting between the Honourable Minister for Education and the leadership of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Honourable Minister has issued a directive to GTEC to immediately withdraw its policy directive dated 1st October, 2025,” the Commission stated.

The Commission went on to explain that the withdrawal was in accordance with the Minister’s instructions and is intended to allow for broader consultations with stakeholders in the tertiary education sector.

“In compliance with the Minister’s directive, and pending further consultations with all relevant stakeholders to ensure broad consensus and institutional sustainability, GTEC hereby announces the immediate withdrawal of the attached policy directive,” the statement said, adding that it shall provide updates on new guidelines once consultations with the right stakeholders are consulted.

“Further guidance will be communicated following the conclusion of stakeholder consultations,” it added.

About the retirement directive by GTEC

In October last year, GTEC released a statement which barred universities from offering post‑retirement contracts to retired lecturers or other senior members of the university community that is it ordered that, the institution could not legally re‑hire them in any teaching, supervisory, or advisory role.

The letter, signed by Deputy Director-General Prof. Augustine Ocloo on behalf of the Director-General, was copied to key stakeholders, including vice chancellors of traditional and technical universities, the Ministry of Education, the Public Services Commission, and the leadership of UTAG and the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG).

This was vehemently rejected by UTAG, which cited a lack of consultation by GTEC boss Prof Abdulai and his deputies in taking such actions.

UTAG earlier petition to govt to remove GTEC bosses

The government was given a 14-day ultimatum by UTAG to dismiss the Director-General of the GTEC, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, and his deputy, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, from office, citing what it describes as a coercive administrative style.

This was contained in a petition addressed to President John Dramani in a press briefing held on Monday 13, April.

UTAG accused GTEC’s leadership of regulatory overreach, issuing unilateral directives, and adopting what it describes as a coercive administrative style.

“UTAG respectfully calls on the President for the following reliefs. The Director-General and Deputy Director-General of GTEC must be relieved of their current roles in order to restore confidence in the tertiary education sector and reset regulatory posture.

“Government must urgently operationalise the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) through a clear and unambiguous Legislative Instrument (LI), including mandatory consultative rule-making, clear limits on interference in internal governance, and a transparent appeals mechanism against regulatory decisions.

“GTEC circulars dated 30 September 2025 and 1 October 2025 should be withdrawn with immediate effect and subjected to structured stakeholder consultation and harmonisation with existing legal frameworks and negotiated Conditions of Service,” UTAG National President, Prof. Vera Fiador, said.

Prof. Vera noted that a circular, which was released by GTEC on September 30, 2025 which discredited some tertiary institutions and blocked admissions into unaccredited programs, citing quality assurance issues.

President of the University of Ghana chapter of UTAG, Dr Jerry Joe Harrison, warned that the association may withdraw its services to GTEC or embark on industrial action if their demands are not met.

“We have several tools at our disposal, including withdrawing all services that we render to GTEC. Of course, to the extreme, industrial disharmony can be activated because if members of UTAG are not happy doing the jobs they are supposed to do, there is no point remaining in the classroom. This issue we talked about directly affects us, the students we teach as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, it will be recalled that, in January this year, UG-UTAG threatened to embark on industrial action or petition the Office of the Chief of Staff if the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, and his Deputy, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, did not resign preemptively by January 31, 2026.

The lecturers' union made this demand in a strongly worded four-page document dated January 19, signed by its president and secretary, Dr Jerry Joe Harrison and Dr Godfred B. Hagan, respectively. The document accused the GTEC leadership of ignoring deep-rooted problems in universities, overstepping its legal authority, weakening university governance, and making harmful policy decisions.

“UTAG-UG calls on the DG, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, DDG, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, to resign honourably by 31st of January 2026. Failure to do so will result in (a) a petition to the Chief-of-Staff for their removal (b) industrial action if necessary”, parts of the statement noted.

According to the union, while the tertiary regulator was mandated to act in the interest of tertiary institutions in Ghana, it had instead shifted its focus to what it described as “tangential and sometimes frivolous actions,” including pursuing individuals with alleged fake degrees, while neglecting systemic challenges affecting public tertiary education.