The President for UG Chapter of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), Michael Owusu Ansah, has urged the Ministry of Education to broaden representation at the upcoming meeting on the association’s industrial action. He argued that the presence of key institutions directly linked to the disputed market premium arrangements would make the engagement more productive.
Mr Ansah explained that GAUA expected the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to participate because the commission is central to resolving the association’s grievances. He also called for representatives from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Employment, Jobs and Labour Relations to join the discussions.
The UG GAUA President noted that the proposed meeting involving the Education Ministry and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) alone could leave several critical questions unanswered. He therefore appealed for a high level engagement involving institutions with the authority to make decisions on the outstanding matters.
“We have already indicated to the Ministry of Education that they should include the relevant stakeholders at the table so that we can all appreciate the urgency of the issue.”
Michael Owusu Ansah
According to Mr Ansah, the association reached an agreement during negotiations on an effective date of April 1, while the Ministry of Finance subsequently communicated July 1 as the implementation date. He argued that such a difference required direct engagement with the ministry responsible for the implementation of government’s financial decisions.
The dispute, he explained, centres on the interpretation and implementation of the outcome reached during negotiations. GAUA therefore wants the institutions responsible for the different components of the agreement to sit together and provide clarity.
From his perspective, the Minister of Employment, Jobs and Labour Relations has already acknowledged that the association’s grievances predate the current industrial action. He added that the minister indicated that some steps have been outlined to address the issues..
Disrupted University Services Threaten Academic Calendar
The ongoing industrial action, according to the GAUA President, has implications for several administrative processes that directly support teaching and learning across public universities. He explained that senior university administrators perform specialised duties that cannot easily be transferred to other categories of staff.
Among the affected areas, he identified admissions processing, examination scheduling and other academic administration duties as activities requiring the expertise of GAUA members. The withdrawal of these services could therefore create difficulties for institutions as they attempt to keep their academic calendars on track.
Mr Ansah pointed out that the processing of WASSCE results remains particularly important as universities prepare for the next admission cycle. Once results become available, administrators must match applicants with programmes, organise applications and prepare candidates for subsequent stages of admission.
Examination administration also requires careful coordination, he added, because timetables must avoid clashes, omissions and overlaps. Without the administrators responsible for that work, universities could face practical difficulties even where academic staff remain available to teach and examine students.
The effects could also reach students approaching the end of their university programmes. Mr Ansah explained that final year students need to complete their examinations within the academic calendar to enable them to take up National Service postings after graduation.
Postgraduate applicants could equally be affected if examination schedules shift significantly. Students seeking employment or further opportunities outside their universities also work within fixed timelines that may not adjust to delays created by industrial action.
For that reason, the GAUA President urged stakeholders to treat the dispute with urgency as the academic calendar continues to move forward. He cautioned that prolonged disruption could affect students, parents and guardians who have already planned around expected graduation and examination dates.
The association’s position is to ensure that the appropriate decision makers are brought into the negotiation process. GAUA expects a properly constituted meeting to provide a pathway towards resolving the disagreement and restoring normal administrative operations.
Mr Ansah further explained that the industrial action carries wider implications because university administration involves several specialised professional fields. These include finance, procurement, auditing, human resource management, architecture and quantity surveying, all of which contribute to the effective running of tertiary institutions.
The dispute therefore encompasses individual remuneration issues, with the association linking its demands to the structure and implementation of the agreements reached with government. He urged the authorities to recognise the time sensitive nature of the situation and act before further academic activities become affected.
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