Only 20% Of Exiting Lecturers Replaced – Kofi Asare Supports UTAG’s Call For Urgent Staffing
The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has endorsed the University Teachers Association of Ghana’s (UTAG) call for immediate government intervention to address the deepening lecturer shortage in public universities.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsnight on Tuesday, May 20, Mr. Asare disclosed that just 20% of academic staff who left public tertiary institutions between 2022 and 2024 have been replaced—leaving a significant staffing gap in the higher education sector.
“If you look at the data, between 2022 and 2024, only about 20% of staff who exited our public universities were replaced. It means there’s still a huge gap,” he stated.
His remarks follow UTAG’s appeal to the government for financial clearance to recruit 1,500 additional lecturers. The association warns that the current shortfall is compromising the quality of education and placing unsustainable pressure on the limited number of lecturers still in service.
Mr. Asare emphasized that government policies such as the no-fee stress policy—designed to increase access to higher education—are driving up student enrollment. However, the failure to scale staffing proportionately, he cautioned, threatens to overwhelm institutions.
“Where we are expanding access to education, we must at least replace the number of staff who exit—if not increase it—to match growing enrollment. It’s a very critical issue,” he stressed.
He also highlighted that the government’s inability to add new academic staff to the consolidated fund—which finances public sector salaries—has compelled universities to rely heavily on Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to pay existing lecturers.
“In 2023, close to 75% of all IGF collected by public tertiary institutions went into staff salaries,” he said. “This year, universities are expected to generate about GH¢2.7 billion in IGF, with GH¢800 million projected to go towards salaries.”
Mr. Asare warned that this model is unsustainable. Originally intended for infrastructure and academic enhancement, IGF is now being consumed by recurring compensation costs. Without urgent government support, he cautioned, universities may soon be unable to invest in critical areas such as learning resources, facility upgrades, and student support services.
Credit: Emma Ankrah
