The University Teachers Association (UTAG) is calling on government to rescind its decision of taking off academic staff above the age of 65 years from government pay roll.
According to the government, the said academic staff engaged on contract by public institutions after the expiration of their mandatory age in the service must be paid through Internally Generated Funds.
In a letter by the Public Services Commission written to the universities and UTAG through the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) on the 4th of this month, government indicated that the policy takes effect on 31st of this month, in line with the Public Services Commission statutes.
Speaking on the matter at a UTAG forum at Elmina on educational delivery in Ghana, the President of UTAG, Dr. Eric Opoku Mensah called on government to put a halt to the new directive as it would deprive the public universities of critical staff especially those in the Professorial ranks.
He added that the public universities do not have enough funds to pay such key staff.
According to Dr. Mensah, graduate work and research will also be negatively affected as those key staff are those who mentor and supervise the teaching and research works of such graduates.
The UTAG President opined that those academicians must be kept longer at public institutions as not only do the institutions lack adequate staff to make up for the numbers but such personalities possess rich experiences that could still help in the teaching, learning and research process.
