Some of the TUTAG members
Members of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) chapter of the Technical University Teachers’ Association (TUTAG), are up-in-arms against the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) for allegedly breaching the Technical University Act, 2016 (Act 922).
According to the TUTAG members, the NCTE had submitted a draft document to the Governing Council of each technical university demanding that there should be harmonized statutes for technical universities.
NCTE is also demanding that there should be harmonized scheme of service for staff of technical universities and harmonized conditions of service for senior and junior members, as well as staff.
It has further directed the Governing Councils of the technical universities that no substantive appointments would be made to positions in the technical universities until the proposed ‘harmonized statutes’ have been approved.
This move, according to members of the TTU, is contrary to the Act that established the technical universities since the Governing Councils were those mandated to enact statutes and to ensure the implementation of the Act.
Addressing a press conference yesterday on the issue, Peter Awini, TUTAG President of Takoradi Technical University, claimed that the NCTE played a key role towards the enactment of the Technical Universities Act which provides sufficient legal framework for the conversion of polytechnics to technical universities in Ghana.
He emphasised that the Technical Universities Act did not enjoin all the universities to enact harmonized statutes, agree on harmonized conditions of service or institute harmonized scheme of service for staff.
“The Governing Council of a Technical University is the body responsible for enacting statutes to ensure implementation of the Act,” he stressed.
He noted that the NCTE’s directive regarding the enactment of ‘harmonized’ statutes of a technical university contravenes Section 26 of the Act which confers the power to enact statutes to ensure implementation of the Act on the Council of each technical university.
“So even if an interim council of polytechnic converted to a technical university approved statutes in accordance with the Technical Universities Act, those statutes have the same effect as if done by the current Councils,” he added.
Mr Awini therefore, threatened that members of TUTAG would resort to the law court for the matter to be settled, if the NCTE did not rescind its directives.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi