UTAG-KNUST backs calls for removal of GTEC Director-General and deputy

The University Teachers Association of Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (UTAG-KNUST) has endorsed calls for the removal of the Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, after an executive emergency meeting held a day earlier, UTAG-KNUST said it had fully aligned itself with a recent press release by the national leadership of UTAG demanding the removal of GTEC Director-General, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, and his deputy.

The association accused the current GTEC leadership of fostering excesses that have disrupted harmony within the tertiary education system and called on President John Mahama to remove both officials, describing them as incompetent and unable to restore confidence in the Commission.

“We urge the duo, the Director-General and his Deputy, to do the needful by resigning their respective positions by January 31, before UTAG advises itself,” the statement warned. It was signed by Prof. Eric K. K. Abavare, President of UTAG-KNUST, and Prof. Akwasi Afrifa Agyemang, Secretary.

UTAG-KNUST said the leadership of GTEC had failed in its core mandate of ensuring quality education delivery across public universities. The association further alleged that the Commission had become a tool for personal vendettas, leading to a deterioration of standards rather than improvements.

The statement also highlighted poor conditions in laboratories and lecture theatres across several institutions, calling for urgent renovation, retooling and expansion.

Additionally, UTAG-KNUST criticised GTEC’s handling of key administrative issues, including worsening student-lecturer ratios and unclear policies on post-retirement contracts and extensions of office-holding, which it said had created confusion and tension on university campuses.

According to the association, lecturers who retired mid-academic year have been unable to exit their posts due to the lack of replacements, while unclear directives on payroll removal for retired staff have left university administrators uncertain and constrained.