UTAG nationwide Joins UTAG-UEW in Strike Action

In disagreement with a court ruling which instructed the Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), to step down temporarily, members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), will on Monday, 18th September, 2017, embark on a nationwide strike.

In a statement signed by the National President, Harry L. K. Agbanu, the National Executive Committee (NEC) has directed its members in all the other public universities in the country to withdraw their teaching services.

The strike is in solidarity with UTAG-UEW, who since July 2017 had laid down their tools and have not stepped into the lecture rooms.

The statement however noted that though, “the issue at UEW is an attack on academic freedom and, thus, affects all public Universities in Ghana,” the members must “diligently perform all other duties placed on them by their appointments.”

According to UTAG’s NEC, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has expressed indifference in the matter and has not sent any representative from the Ministry since the court process listed the MoE as the Second Respondent.

“This unconcerned posturing was further exacerbated by the decision of the Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education not to facilitate a meeting with some personalities in an attempt to resolve the issue amicably,” the statement revealed.

NEC has a given a one-week ultimatum within which the current predicament in UEW should be resolved.

Source: Grace Kekeli Sogbey/ The Publisher Newspaper