Government has been given a 14-day ultimatum by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to dismiss the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, and his deputy, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, from office citing what it describes as as a coercive administrative style.

This was contained in a petition addressed to the President John Dramani in a press briefing held yesterday, 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 operationalize 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“GTEC circulars dated 30 September 2025 and 1 October 2025 should be withdrawn with immediate effect and subjected to structured stakeholder consultation and harmonization with existing legal frameworks and negotiated Conditions of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 September 30, 2025 which discredited some tertiary institutions and blocked admissions into unaccredited programs, citing quality assurance be recalled.

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.

It also questioned GTEC’s legal mandate, particularly its involvement in the removal of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong. According to UG-UTAG, the conduct of the regulator had negatively affected the quality of education in Ghana.

Consequently, the union sought to clarify GTEC’s mandate, noting that “GTEC appears to have lost its way and is now being used to settle scores. Instead of promoting good governance in public tertiary education institutions, it engages in actions that undermine it. For instance, under what legal mandate did GTEC remove the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong? If GTEC claims regulatory authority, which specific provision in Act 1023 empowers such an Intervention? There is clear confusion at GTEC’s leadership level regarding its advisory versus regulatory roles. Under the advisory role, GTEC is enjoined to ‘recommend standards and norms on governance, financing, academic programmes, staff costs, accommodation and time utilisation, for the approval of the Minister’.”