The University of Ghana Branch of the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG-UG) has accused the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) of exceeding its regulatory mandate by interfering with the recruitment of academic staff for the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS) in Wa.
In a statement dated September 9, 2026, UTAG-UG said the move threatened academic freedom and the institutional autonomy of public universities.
The association referred to an advertisement published by GTEC inviting applicants with terminal degrees to fill academic positions at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS) in Wa.
According to UTAG-UG, the advertisement directs interested applicants to submit soft-copy application letters, curriculum vitae and certificates to Dr Francis Kwabena Afedoh by an email associated to GTEC by September 30, 2026.
This, the association said, could be viewed as an attempt by the regulator to assist institutions facing challenges in recruiting faculty, but it raises concerns about possible political interference in the recruitment and governance of public universities.
UTAG-UG argued that GTEC could recruit individuals it described as having government loyalties or being government cronies, who could subsequently be insulated from the accountability mechanisms of the institutions where they work.
It said such an arrangement could undermine the independence universities require to carry out their teaching and research mandates.
The association described the move as an “unprecedented and dangerous overreach” into institutional self-governance and said it violated constitutional guarantees of academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
It also questioned GTEC’s capacity to conduct recruitment across different academic disciplines, arguing that the Commission lacked the subject-specific expertise required to undertake the task effectively.
UTAG-UG said the arrangement placed GTEC in the position of being “both a player and a referee”.
The statement was signed by the President of UTAG-UG, Dr Jerry Joe Harrison, and the Secretary, Dr Godfred B. Hagan.
