BTU Council Chair allegedly blocks Vice Chancellor from office despite GTEC directive
Fresh tensions have emerged at Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) after the university’s Council Chairman allegedly refused to grant the Vice Chancellor access to his office despite a directive from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) ordering his immediate reinstatement.
According to deep-throat sources within the university, the Vice Chancellor was prevented from fully resuming duties even after GTEC officially directed him to return to office pending ongoing investigations into procurement-related allegations.
In a letter signed by the Director-General of GTEC, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, the Commission instructed the Vice Chancellor to “resume work… with immediate effect” while investigations into alleged breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) and the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) continue.
The letter further stated that the directive “supersedes any earlier communication” issued by the university council.
Copies of the communication were sent to the Minister of Education, the BTU Council Chairman, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, and other key stakeholders.
However, sources close to the university administration claim the Council Chairman resisted the implementation of the directive and allegedly refused to allow the Vice Chancellor into his office upon his attempted return.
The development has reportedly heightened uncertainty within the university’s administration, with staff closely monitoring the standoff between the governing council and the tertiary education regulator.
The development began on December 12, 2025, when the Council Chairman directed the Chancellor to proceed on accumulated leave. A second directive followed on January 22, 2026, before the council formally suspended him on February 16, 2026.
The suspension was linked to investigations into alleged procurement and financial management breaches.
The university had effectively operated without a substantive Vice Chancellor for nearly three months before GTEC intervened.
While the exact nature of the allegations remains unclear, GTEC’s latest directive suggests the Commission does not consider the ongoing investigations sufficient grounds to keep the Vice Chancellor out of office.
As of press time, neither the Council Chairman nor the university management had publicly responded to allegations that the Vice Chancellor was denied access to his office.