As the strike by the thousands of public university teachers bites hard, Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has disclosed strong engagement are ongoing to get the aggrieved teachers back into lecture halls.
At a press conference on Sunday, January 30, 2022, the Minister described the over three-weeks strike by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) as unfortunate.
“As a Minister of Education, I have said I am a chief advocate for teachers and professors and when we find ourselves in this place, I do everything possible – formally and informally – to make sure we come to some resolution,” Dr. Adutwum told journalists.
All 15 public universities across the country risk shutdown, a situation that would severely disrupt the academic calendar at the tertiary level.
The strike is entering its fourth week and could trigger a process for the suspension of academic activities.
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University statutes compel public universities to be closed after 21 days of continuous suspension of academic activities.
UTAG members at all 15 public universities passed a resolution to begin their strike on January 10, 2022.
The National Labour Commission (NLC) has triggered a legal process to force the lecturers back into the lecture halls but have vowed to fight for the suit.
UTAG members are on strike to force the government to restore the conditions of service agreed upon in 2012.
The 2012 conditions of service pegged the Basic plus Market Premium of a lecturer at $2,084.42.
UTAG has complained that the current arrangement has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84.
The over three-week-old strike has sparked worry among students as they anticipate that the academic calendar will be disrupted.