Parliament has suspended the Public University Bill at the consideration stage to allow for further stakeholder engagements.
According to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, the Bill will not have been passed without the input of various stakeholders.
Addressing the Press, the Chairperson of the Education Committee in Parliament, William Quaittoo Agyapong, said: “The consideration at the plenary is suspended. That is on hold until we receive their [UTAG’s] inputs on the new Bill.”
Parliament on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, approved the Public University Bill at the second reading stage.
This sparked concerns from all stakeholders in the educational sector leading to a meeting between the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Quaittoo assured that “the House [Parliament] is not in a rush to get this Bill passed.”
He added that the committee has provided UTAG with the new Bill for its perusal before possible passage.
“So this morning we met the stakeholders, and we gave copies of the new Bill to them to study it and make their inputs known to us and the portions that would be acceptable would be incorporated into the Bill.”
UTAG in a statement has also said it received the revised Bill and urged its members to remain calm “as the consultations go on and will like to assure them that anything contrary to this agreement will incur the displeasure of UTAG.”
According to UTAG, Vice President Bawumia, “upheld the directive of the Speaker of Parliament that the Parliamentary Select Committee of Education should carryout thorough stakeholder engagements and report back to Parliament.”
