Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu
Accra, Ghana- Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has made a direct appeal to striking university lecturers and senior staff to suspend their industrial action, assuring them that the government is actively addressing outstanding pension obligations.
While addressing stakeholders and President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister specifically acknowledged the concerns of UTAG and senior staff groups. He then clearly asked them to put national interests first by considering suspending their strike during government action.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on our friends in academia that while President Mahama is honoring his word, he is giving you unfettered what the Constitution guarantees as academic freedom,he is giving it to you absolutely, that he would not interfere with the freedom of the university,” the Minister said.
He stated that non-interference and respect for institutional autonomy should encourage cooperation from academic unions.
“I do not think that we are reciprocating the gesture kind enough of President Mahama,” he added, before appealing directly to the striking senior staff and UTAG members to call off the action.
According to the Minister, the strike is about two main issues. Chief among them is payment of outstanding Tier Two pension contributions. He said the administration inherited about GH¢1 billion in unpaid obligations.
He said, “The Comptroller has now paid about three hundred and ninety-six million Ghana cedis. About six hundred million remain outstanding.”
He said the remaining amount is being processed. This follows consultations between the President, the Minister for Finance, and the Comptroller-General.
“The President and I met with the Honorable Minister for Finance and Comptroller, and we agreed to work on the process to get it done,” he explained.
The Minister’s remarks come at a delicate moment for Ghana’s tertiary education sector. Recurring strike actions have disrupted academic calendars and pressured students and families.
The coming days will likely determine whether the partial payment and ongoing negotiations are sufficient to persuade the striking groups to return to the lecture halls.
For thousands of students across public universities, the outcome could determine whether the semester proceeds without further disruption.
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