Ghana technical universities to resume classes after lecturers suspend strike

Academic activities are scheduled to resume across Ghana's 10 technical universities on November 2 after the Technical University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (TUTAG) suspended its nationwide strike.

The association announced the decision on October 30 following deliberations by its National Congress, its highest decision-making body. The suspension followed negotiations involving TUTAG, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Vice-Chancellors of Technical Universities, Ghana (VCTU-G).

However, TUTAG clarified that the strike had been suspended, not terminated, as the parties continue working towards resolving the issues behind the industrial action.

Unpaid salaries and promotion rules among lecturers' demands

The strike was triggered by three major concerns: outstanding remuneration for staff employed on post-retirement contracts, changes to promotion requirements for junior academic staff and the classification of university librarians as academic staff.

Under the agreement reached during the negotiations, GTEC will facilitate a meeting involving the Finance Minister, technical university vice-chancellors and other relevant stakeholders by Nov 14 to address the outstanding payments to post-retirement contract staff.

On promotion requirements, GTEC agreed that Assistant Lecturers and Assistant Research Fellows who had met their universities' promotion criteria before July 31, 2025, would not be subjected to the additional PhD requirement when seeking promotion to Lecturer or Research Fellow.

The parties also agreed that the National President of the University Librarians Association would submit a technical paper on the classification of university librarians as academic staff for consideration and implementation.

Freshers asked to return to campuses

TUTAG has directed students at all 10 technical universities to return to their campuses on Nov 2 for lectures and other scheduled academic activities.

The association has also asked university managements to ensure that students are not academically disadvantaged because of the strike. It specifically highlighted newly admitted students who were unable to report to their institutions at the originally scheduled time.

Some freshers had missed orientation, registration and medical examinations during the disruption. TUTAG has urged university authorities to make arrangements for them to complete these processes.

The association's president, Professor Deodat E. Adenutsi, said the decision to suspend the strike was intended to give negotiations another opportunity. He stressed that the union's demands remained outstanding and that it would continue monitoring the implementation of the commitments made.

The resumption of academic activities is therefore expected to restore teaching across Ghana's technical universities, although the possibility of further industrial action remains if the outstanding issues are not resolved.