Technical universities to extend academic calendar after TUTAG calls off strike

The Technical Universities in the country will soon extend the academic calendar to make up for the contact hours lost during the period their lecturers were on strike.

The Technical University Teachers Association (TUTAG) called off its three-week-old strike on Monday after meeting with the National Labour Commission and other stakeholders.

TUTAG’s industrial action left thousands of students in the eight technical universities stranded.

The action also adversely affected the schedule for teaching and learning in technical universities.

Greater Accra Regional Chair of TUTAG, Dr. Ibrahim Zubeiru who spoke on Monday, indicated that the three weeks extension in the calendar will enable them to clear their backlogs.

He also urged students to prepare for the resumption of academic work.

“We will bring an extended academic calendar. It will be extended by three weeks. The normal calendar is affected so what we normally do is that the long vacation which will be affceted by three weeks will be cut short by the same period. Usually their long vacation is three months so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Some of our students have gone home so we need to communicate by tomorrow to get them prepared and come. We as academics will have to meet at various academic boards to extend the academic calendar for us to continue with work”, he added.

The Vice-Chancellors of Technical Universities in Ghana who pleaded with the striking lecturers to return to the lecture halls had earlier given strong indications that the academic calendar of technical universities may be extended by three weeks if the ongoing strike by lecturers and administrators was not called off.

TUTAG calls off strike 

Despite threats that its strike remained unabated, TUTAG reconsidered its decision after a meeting with the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) on Monday.

Dr. Ibrahim Zubeiru in an interview said all parties in the stalemate have now reached a tenable resolution.

“The Commission did well and listened to us. Based on the condition ruling by the NLC, we think they have done well and we are happy about it. So what we have to do is to revert back because as leaders, we have a conscience so we are going to issue a communique tomorrow about the strike to inform the public about our position.”

The NLC has implored the government to pay TUTAG members who qualify for electricity, rent, maintenance, off-campus and security allowances at the end of December 2019.

The Commission, on the matter of entertainment and fuel allowances for the university lecturers, said those “shall be paid to deserving officeholders in December 2019.

TUTAG has been on a three-week-long strike demanding a migration of its members to the pay grade of public university lecturers.

They had also been demanding an increase in the allowances they are given to the appropriate level arguing that emoluments due them were not released despite a directive from the Ministry of Finance to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.