UTAG-KNUST threatens legal action over Pro-VC and Dean appointments

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG-KNUST) has threatened further action over the process for appointing Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Deans.

In a letter to its members dated September 10, 2026, UTAG-KNUST said an Academic Board meeting held on September 9 did not uphold members’ earlier position that the existing appointment process should remain in place until a mutually acceptable framework is agreed.

The association said its position was based on what it described as its statutory right to participate in decisions on university leadership.

“Our right to participate meaningfully in decisions about who leads us is grounded in Act 1157, Clause 5(f), which entrenches university membership and the democratic prerogatives that flow from it,” the letter said.

UTAG-KNUST said it would formally engage the University Council to seek an urgent reconsideration of the matter and discuss a framework for appointments.

“We will continue to prefer dialogue, and approach these engagements in good faith and with the respect due to sister stakeholders,” it said.

The association, however, warned that it could consider other options if its concerns were not addressed.

“Should our reasonable concerns fail to receive the serious attention they deserve, the Association will consider all legitimate options available under our constitution and the country’s labour laws,” it said.

UTAG-KNUST also argued that the university’s strategic plan should not override its statutes.

“A strategic plan, however important it is, and with an expected life span of about ten years, cannot properly override a statute whose life span is measured in decades,” the association said.

It said any process for appointing Pro-Vice-Chancellors or Deans must give key stakeholders a genuine role.

“Whatever process Management adopts to appoint Pro-Vice-Chancellors or Deans must include a genuine role for the key stakeholders who will work with, and be led by, those officers,” the letter said.

The association urged members to remain united, discuss the matter within their departments and faculties, and remain patient while being prepared for further steps.