The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) says it will consult its members on the outcome of negotiations with the Ministry of Education before deciding whether to suspend its two-month-long strike.
The association is expected to communicate its decision after Tuesday, October 13, 2026, although it has yet to announce a specific date for the consultation.
The development follows a meeting held on Monday, October 12, at the Ministry of Education in Accra. The meeting brought together the leadership of GAUA, the Technical University Senior Administrators Association of Ghana (TUSAAG), the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Iddrisu expressed optimism that the industrial action would be called off in the coming days. He also directed GTEC to ask public universities to announce their reopening dates towards the end of the week.
The minister said the government was keen to ensure that academic activities resumed on Monday, October 19, to prevent further disruption to the academic calendar.
“It is my expectation that the universities can reopen towards the weekend and not later than the weekend so that academic work can begin on Monday so that we don’t lose the academic calendar to the strike and its impact,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu appealed to the leadership of GAUA and TUSAAG to consider the impact of the prolonged industrial action on students and allow academic activities to resume across public university campuses.
“What I want is to request GAUA to consider calling off their strike action for normal academic work to proceed and continue throughout all our university campuses across Ghana and public universities,” he added.
GAUA Insists on Member Consultation
Despite the government’s appeal, GAUA leadership has maintained that it cannot unilaterally suspend the strike without consulting its members.
The association’s constitution requires major decisions, including the suspension of industrial action, to be ratified by the membership.
GAUA President, Rev. Kwaku Amoah Karikari, had earlier indicated that an agreement on the market premium issue would prompt consultations with the association’s national executives before a final decision was taken.
The outcome of Monday’s meeting is therefore expected to be communicated to members for consideration, after which the association will determine its next course of action.
Dispute Over Interim Market Premium
GAUA’s industrial action began on August 10, 2026, and was reactivated on September 15 after a brief suspension.
The strike centres on what the association describes as disparities in the Interim Market Premium (IMP) paid to teaching and non-teaching senior members of public universities.
GAUA maintains that a 2012 Compulsory Arbitration Award established parity in the market premium at 114 per cent of basic salary. However, the association argues that while the market premium for members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has subsequently increased, that of GAUA members has remained unchanged.
Figures cited in the dispute indicate that a teaching senior member receives an average market premium of approximately GH¢10,000, compared with about GH¢4,718 for a non-teaching senior member, representing a difference of GH¢5,282.
Public Universities Face Disruptions
The prolonged strike has disrupted key administrative services at public universities, including admissions, student registration and accommodation allocation.
The University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have also postponed their scheduled reopening dates amid the ongoing industrial action.
With the government pushing for academic activities to resume on October 19, attention is now focused on the outcome of GAUA’s consultations and whether members will agree to suspend the strike.
A decision to call off the industrial action could pave the way for the affected universities to resume normal operations and minimise further disruption to the academic calendar.
