The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has ordered specified senior management officials of public universities to return to work, insisting they are not eligible to participate in the ongoing industrial action being undertaken by the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) and the Technical University Senior Administrators’ Association of Ghana (TUSAAG).
The directive, dated August 17, 2026, and addressed to heads of tertiary institutions, was issued by the Deputy Director-General of GTEC, Prof. Augustine Ocloo, and covers a broad range of senior positions within the country’s public universities.
According to GTEC, the directive affects Vice-Chancellors, Pro Vice-Chancellors, Registrars, Directors of Finance or Finance Officers, Directors of Internal Audit, Directors of Health Services, Directors of Procurement, Directors of Works and Physical Development, and Directors of Information Technology. It also extends to Deans, Directors and Heads of Academic Units, along with all Deputy Directors and Vice-Deans across the affected institutions.
GTEC explained that these officials occupy executive, managerial, or policy-making positions whose functions require them to remain at post during industrial action, given the critical nature of the responsibilities attached to their roles.
Concern Over Officials Joining The Strike
Prof. Ocloo said the Commission had noted, with concern, that some senior management officials occupying the excluded positions had nonetheless joined the ongoing strike, prompting the need for a formal directive clarifying their obligations under the law.
“A Senior Management Official who is both a member of a trade union and an officer of management may, therefore, be placed in a position of divided loyalty when the union undertakes industrial action.”
GTEC
He explained that such officials owed a fiduciary duty to their employers, particularly those serving under contractual arrangements, a responsibility that GTEC maintains takes precedence over participation in industrial action organised by unions representing administrative staff.
Directive Grounded in Labour Law
The directive was issued based on provisions of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), specifically Sections 163 and 170, alongside Section 20 of the Labour Regulations, 2007 (L.I. 1833), and the National Labour Commission Regulations, 2006 (L.I. 1822).
By anchoring the directive in these specific legal instruments, GTEC appears to be reinforcing the legal basis for compelling affected officials to return to their posts, rather than relying solely on administrative authority.
GTEC has directed Vice-Chancellors to submit, within 48 hours of receiving the directive, a register of all senior management officials who joined the strike and failed to comply with the order to return to work.
This requirement places direct responsibility on university leadership to monitor and report compliance among their senior staff, effectively creating an accountability mechanism tied to the directive’s enforcement.
Essential Services Must Remain Unaffected
Beyond addressing the status of senior management officials, GTEC also directed public universities to take steps to prevent the industrial action from disrupting essential institutional and student services.
The Commission specified that these services include end-of-semester examinations, auditing functions, telecommunications and internet services, student portals and registration systems, healthcare provision, cleaning and janitorial services, and the processing of salaries and other payments.
“GTEC said it had received reports of attempts to disrupt internet access, student portals, registration systems, cleaning services and health services on some campuses.”
GTEC
The Commission’s explicit listing of these services suggests that concerns over disruption extend beyond hypothetical risk, pointing instead to specific incidents already reported on some university campuses since the strike action began.
GTEC issued a clear warning that any unlawful disruption of essential services could constitute a breach of the Labour Act, signalling that institutions and individuals found responsible for such disruptions could face legal consequences under existing labour legislation.
This warning reinforces the seriousness with which GTEC is treating the potential impact of the ongoing strike on student welfare and institutional operations, particularly given that examinations and other time-sensitive academic processes fall within the scope of services the Commission insists must remain uninterrupted.
Firm Stance Amid Ongoing Labour Disputes
The directive comes at a critical juncture in the standoff between GAUA, TUSAAG, and government over unresolved conditions of service issues, including delayed promotion placements and an expired collective bargaining agreement.
With GTEC now drawing a firm line between eligible strike participants and senior management officials expected to remain at post, the coming days are likely to reveal how university administrations navigate compliance with the directive, particularly given the 48-hour deadline set for Vice-Chancellors to report on affected officials.
As the broader industrial dispute between administrative staff unions and government continues, GTEC’s intervention adds a new layer of regulatory pressure aimed at insulating core university functions and student services from further disruption, even as underlying tensions over conditions of service remain unresolved.
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