TUTAG-KsTU gives government August deadline to pay 15 lecturers

The Kumasi Technical University chapter of the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG-KsTU) has threatened to withdraw academic services if the government fails to validate and pay the salaries and arrears owed to 15 post-retirement contract faculty members by the end of this month.

At a press conference on Thursday, the Chapter Chairman, Dr Bismark Quarku Parker, said the affected senior lecturers had worked for as long as 12 months without receiving their salaries despite several engagements with relevant government institutions.

He disclosed that 18 post-retirement contract faculty members are currently serving at the university, but only three are receiving their monthly salaries.

According to Dr Parker, the salary blockage began in September 2025 and subsequently affected additional lecturers in October 2025, January 2026 and March 2026.

“We have engaged extensively at various levels, including University Management, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

He said the union had repeatedly been assured that the outstanding salaries would be paid, but no concrete action had been taken to resolve the matter.

“Throughout these engagements, we have received assurances that payment will be made. However, we have not seen concrete effort on the part of both the Ministry of Education and GTEC to ensure that the payment is made,” he added.

TUTAG Questions Unequal Treatment

Dr Parker also raised concerns about what he described as inconsistencies in the treatment of post-retirement contract faculty across public tertiary institutions.

He noted that while lecturers on similar contracts at some public universities continued to receive their salaries, others had been subjected to prolonged pay freezes despite performing comparable academic duties.

He explained that post-retirement contracts form part of the conditions of service for senior academic staff and are intended to enable universities to retain experienced faculty, meet accreditation requirements, supervise postgraduate research and mentor younger academics.

He said such arrangements were particularly important amid staffing shortages across tertiary institutions.

Strike Threat

Dr Parker called on the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, CAGD and GTEC to urgently include the affected lecturers in the ongoing payroll validation exercise and ensure the payment of all outstanding arrears.

He warned that failure to resolve the matter during the current validation period would trigger an immediate withdrawal of academic services by the union.

The industrial action, he said, would affect critical academic activities, including examinations, project supervision, thesis defences and graduation ceremonies.

TUTAG-KsTU is therefore demanding an immediate resolution of the salary impasse to prevent disruptions to academic activities at Kumasi Technical University.