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Tema, Ghana, 25th October, 2025: The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has urged the government to provide stronger financial and logistical support to the University of Ghana to improve teaching and learning conditions. According to him, persistent challenges at the premier university are gradually affecting the quality of education and demoralizing both academic and non-academic staff. Speaking on Ahotor FM’s Yepe Ahunu show on Saturday, October 25, 2025, Mr. Koomson noted that many lecturers and professors are unhappy due to delays in salary payments and the lack of adequate teaching and learning equipment. “The government must pay critical attention to the University of Ghana to enhance education outcomes. There are challenges — sometimes salaries of lecturers and professors are delayed, their equipment is broken and cannot be fixed, and staff keep complaining,” he said. Mr. Koomson, while commending President John Dramani Mahama’s newly launched Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative, cautioned that offering free education without corresponding investment in the universities could compromise academic standards. “Creating opportunities for people to attend university for free is commendable, but there must be adequate support for the universities to operate effectively. Otherwise, the ‘free free’ policy will not achieve the desired results,” he warned. He further explained that public universities cannot arbitrarily increase their fees without parliamentary approval, which limits their ability to generate enough revenue for operations. “Universities can’t increase fees unless Parliament approves it. The government must, therefore, provide sufficient funding so they don’t rely solely on the little revenue they generate. Otherwise, the quality of education will suffer,” he emphasized. The labour leader also raised concerns about the limited Internally Generated Funds (IGF) available to the university, saying the government should assess whether the IGF alone can sustain operations. He advised the various unions at the University of Ghana to focus their efforts on addressing the pressing welfare concerns of staff, including the recent cancellation of overtime allowances, which he said has caused discontent among employees. “Some of the staff are unhappy with the cancellation of overtime payments, and it’s creating grievances. The IGF cannot sustain the university, and if the government truly wants quality education, it must support the institution,” he urged. Mr. Koomson further warned that the continuous neglect of these challenges could trigger an exodus of experienced lecturers and professors from the country. “Some of the professors are already frustrated and considering leaving the country,” he cautioned. LISTEN TO ABRAHAM KOOMSON IN THE AUDIO BELOW: Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/Ahotoronline.com | Ghana 🇬🇭
