Why UTAG-UG has called for the immediate resignation of GTEC bosses

The University of Ghana Branch of the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG-UG) has called for the immediate resignation of the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, and his Deputy, Professor Augustine Ocloo, describing their management style as adversarial rather than cordial in engaging with managers of public tertiary education institutions.

In a press statement issued on Monday, January 19, 2026, UTAG-UG warned that failure by the two officials to resign by January 31, 2026, will result in a petition to the Chief-of-Staff for their removal and if necessary, industrial action.

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The association said the leadership of GTEC has consistently acted outside its mandate as defined under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), to the detriment of public tertiary education institutions.

“UTAG-UG calls on the DG, Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai and DDG, Prof Augustine Ocloo, to resign honourably by January 31, 2026. Failure to do so will result in a petition to the Chief-of-Staff for their removal and industrial action if necessary.

"We also call for the immediate enactment of a Legislative Instrument (LI) that will guide the implementation of Act 1023 to forestall future abuse of power by leadership of GTEC,” the statement noted.

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UTAG also accused GTEC of abandoning its core mandate.

“Instead of executing its core mandate, the Commission has been reduced to tangential and sometimes frivolous actions, such as chasing people with ‘fake degrees,’ while neglecting the fundamental issues affecting tertiary education in Ghana,” it stated.

UTAG-UG warned that the actions of GTEC’s leadership represent “a pattern of incompetent administration” that undermines academic freedom, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, and institutional autonomy.

Read the full statement below:

JKB/AM

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