The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) is advocating for fair treatment and greater representation within the university governance structure and at the national level.

This call for equity comes from the newly elected President of the GAUA, Mr Festus Nyame of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Highlighting the extensive scope of GAUA, he said, "When we talk about administrators, we are not talking about only the registrars. It includes all, accountants, procurement officers, lawyers, IT staff, architects, quantity surveyors, medical doctors, pharmacists, all senior members of the university who do all the other things with the exception of teaching."

He noted that this group performs crucial roles in the university, ensuring its smooth operation.

Mr Nyame said his motivation to lead GAUA stems from a desire to support members in achieving their professional goals and ensuring they receive the benefits due them.

"My motivation is to lead this important group of the university, harness our potentials, and then engaging the university administration and the government so that we will have significant contribution to the business of the university and also receive benefits that will help this group of people to perform their various duties and tasks effectively and efficiently," he explained.

He also emphasised the importance of capacity building and professional development for members of the association.

"The other motivation is to build the capacities  these various groups of professionals or administrators in the university and help our members to get as much exposure as possible. There are areas that we think we could also explore in terms of grants and research."

Mr. Festus Nyame who is also a lawyer by profession, highlighted the issue of representation in university governance.

"KNUST is supposed to have unions represented on the governing council, but over the years, GAUA has no representation but our teaching colleagues have three (3). This defeats the tenets of corporate governance and the university is expected to know better. We have engaged the university management on this and have also submitted a petition to the Chairman of the university council. We expect that this inequity will be addressed as soon as possible to ensure peace on our campus."

At the national level, he pointed out what he said are biases and unfair treatment of GAUA by government agencies like GTEC and The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).

"GAUA is not very loud at the national phase but we make inputs into national discourse and issues. We think there's more we can do, and going forward, there's a lot you're going to hear from GAUA."

One of the critical issues he raised is the perceived inequitable treatment by the government, particularly regarding allowances and taxation.

"Recently, the government has granted a tax waiver to those who are teaching, but the Ghana Revenue Authority wants to tax the staff who are not teaching. The same group of people are receiving allowances, and GRA decides to tax one side and leave the other side. This creates instability on campus."

He also added that members of GAUA have been placed lower on the Single Spine Salary scale than their teaching colleagues.

"Also, the universities operate a 5-tier structure for lecturers which enable them retire as professors but the administrators and professionals only have 4-tier structure. The result is that a lecturer can retire with a better pension than the administrator or professional," he explained.

Mr Nyame warned of the potential consequences if GAUA members' concerns are not addressed.

"If members of GAUA decide to go on a prolonged strike, our hospitals will shut down, our IT system will shut down, our council offices will shut down, our administration office will shut down, our basic schools will shut down, our accounts office will shut down and nobody will be paid; the university will come to a standstill."

He called for fair treatment for all university staff, urging the university management and the government to avoid actions that could lead to instability on the various campuses.

"Government should be as fair as possible to every group on campus. We always ensure stability and peace on our campuses because we think that we are the managers of the university."

As the new President of GAUA KNUST Chapter, Festus Nyame's leadership is set to drive a stronger presence and recognition for university administrators, both within the university and on the national front.