The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has asked the Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to halt the advertisements for the position of Registrar and the Director of Human Resources for the university.

According to GTEC, owing to the sensitive nature of the appointments, it has become prudent for the Council to stay all action on such appointments till the issues surrounding the petitions of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, and the Ghana Association of University Administrators are addressed.

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), and the convocation leadership at UCC have kicked against what they call a sinful act against the university’s statute.

In a letter signed by UTAG president of UCC, the President of GAUA and the leadership of the convocation noted with grave concerns some clauses in the advertisements on the eligibility criteria for the application for the positions of Registrar and Director of Human Resource for the university.

They say previous advertisements for the positions were in sync with UCC Statutes (2016) currently in use.

However, they find the criteria set out in the current advertisements problematic, discriminatory, skewed, and alien to the statutes.

“We find the obscure insertion of a research degree, 16 and 12 years post qualification experience as well as four years and two years of post-rank Deputy Registrar experience for Registrar and Director of Human Resource respectively without recourse to due processes unlawful and an avenue for suspicions and litigations.

"The unions say this is an affront to the university’s quest to provide equal opportunities to all categories of persons,” the letters of the unions stated.

They further intimated that in the spirit of natural justice and the overarching interest of UCC, UTAG-UCC the advertisements should be retracted from the outlets for the concerns raised to be addressed before the re-advertisements of the two positions.

But in a sharp rebuttal, the Chairman of the University of Cape Coast Governing Council, Prof. Harold Amoono Kuofie, described the acts of the unions as disingenuous.

According to Prof. Harold Amoono Kuofie, contrary to the assertions by the unions, the advertisements are rather consistent with the statutes of the university’s eligibility criteria already approved by the governing council and current best practices.

He stated that it is also consistent with the University of Cape Coast Law, 1992 (PNDC Law 278) which empowers the Council to appoint the officers in question, and by implication, determine the requisite qualifications and experiences.

“The advertisements were guided by the content of the report of the committee on the restricting of the office of the registrar, which was duly approved by the Council.

They were also informed by the current best practices and in response to the ever-changing landscape of higher education in Ghana and globally.

"It is, therefore, disingenuous for the unions to question the basis of the number of years of experience at the rank of Deputy Registrar in the current advertisements as being unlawful,” he stated in the letter to the unions.

According to him, contrary to the union's unsubstantiated claims that the advertisements are problematic, discriminatory and skewed, he believes they are not only compliant with the statutes of the university but also aligned with best practices and already approved criteria.

Prof. Amoono Kuofie believes the advertisements are fair and do not deliberately exclude anyone except those who do not satisfy the criteria.

“I wish to urge UTAG if indeed this is the Union’s position, to desist from undermining the authority of the Governing Council and showing any contempt to Council and rather focus on their constructive dialogue to ensure the best possible outcome for the university and its stakeholders.

"Under the circumstances, I regret to inform you that the advertisement will not be withdrawn,” he stated.

But GTEC says the disagreement should be handled with utmost care by the university lest it degenerate into an issue that could brew serious tension.

A letter signed by the Acting Director General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission states that GTEC receives petitions filed by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UCC branch) and the UCC branch of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) raising concerns about the issue.

He said the commission is recommending that the petitions by UTAG and GAUA be brought before the Governing Council of the university as a collective body for discussion and decision taken by the Council, and same brought to the attention of the commission.

“GTEC believes this will enrich whatever decision is taken on the subject by the university,” Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abudalai.