The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has suspended its planned nationwide strike, which was expected to begin on July 6, following renewed engagements with the government over conditions of service.
The association said the decision follows concrete commitments by the government to address the concerns that prompted the planned industrial action.
Speaking to Citi News on Monday, July 6, UTAG General Secretary Dr Joe Harrison said the two sides had made progress after a series of meetings held following the initial strike notice.
According to him, the government has provided written assurances and signed documents demonstrating its commitment to resolving the outstanding issues affecting members.
“Well, following the declaration of an intention to go on strike, we’ve had several engagements with government. The long story short is that there are commitments on the side of government to resolve the issue that we raised,” he said.
Dr Joe Harrison added that some of the concerns raised by the association, particularly those relating to conditions of service, had already been addressed during the ongoing negotiations.
Despite suspending the industrial action, UTAG warned that it would not hesitate to proceed with the strike if the government failed to honour its commitments.
Dr Joe Harrison also criticised recent comments attributed to former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who reportedly suggested that some university programmes, including Development Studies, are unnecessary.
He described the comments as unfortunate, arguing that university education should not be judged solely by immediate job market outcomes.
“I think that we should not reduce university education to nearly 20 people for the job market. University education is meant to train your mind. It’s supposed to make you trainable. So once you are able to successfully complete university education, you should be able to fit into every industry,” he added.
