Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, on Thursday said lecturers of institutions of higher learning in the country should be paid 1,000 dollars (6.5 million cedis) monthly to boost their morale to give of their best.
"It should be possible to evolve strategies that will guarantee the average lecturer or his equivalent at least 1,000 dollars a month," he said.
He was giving an overview of his 10-year development plan for the university at the opening of a three-day workshop to assess and re-examine the programmes of the university with the view to evolving new ones to meet modern trends and national development aspirations.
Prof. Addae-Mensah said the notion that no one in a country's public service should earn more than his minister and the head of state should be discounted.
"In reality, some people in the public service earn more than the head of state, yet when it comes to the universities, we are always told we cannot be treated differently." This situation is the major reason for the several upheavals initiated by lecturers who feel inadequately rewarded as their counterparts in other sectors of the public service earn more.
Prof. Addae-Mensah argued that when lecturers are adequately remunerated, it would go a long way to boost the confidence of students, parents and the entire nation.
This is because smooth academic work all year round would be guaranteed. He said due to the low morale of lecturers and its resultant poor attitude to work, the UG, for instance, has produced only two Ph.D. holders in chemistry over the past 50 years, against 100 in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, over the same period.
"Our lecturers tend to concentrate more on their part-time consultancy engagement more than on going an extra mile in teaching."
Prof. Addae-Mensah said the research base of the university has virtually collapsed, adding that more needs to be done to enable the university to resume its staff development programme. "Currently, the government grants a maximum of only five scholarships in a year for overseas training at the Ph.D. level, which is woefully inadequate."
He, however, admitted that the government could not bear the burden alone, adding that beneficiary organisations of products of the universities should assist through contributions to the University Endowment Fund.
Prof. Addae-Mensah called for a re-modelling of the course structure of Junior Secondary Schools to enable products from that level to start specialising early to be able to read physics, chemistry, geography or physics, geography, and geology at the first year in the university.
Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, a deputy minister of education, said the issue of remuneration for lecturers is currently under consideration and indications were that there would be an upward adjustment.
