Abraham Koomson is the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour
The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, is calling on the government to urgently address worsening conditions at the University of Ghana.
According to him, the situation is undermining the quality of education and staff morale.
Speaking on Ahotor FM’s Yepe Ahunu show on Saturday, October 25, 2025, Koomson noted that the country’s premier university is grappling with persistent challenges including delayed salaries and broken teaching equipment.
These, he said, are leaving both academic and non-academic staff frustrated.
“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.
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While commending President John Dramani Mahama’s newly launched Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative, Koomson cautioned that such policies must be backed by adequate investment in universities to avoid compromising 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.
The labour expert also highlighted the financial constraints facing public universities, pointing out that they cannot increase fees without parliamentary approval, a limitation that leaves them heavily reliant on limited Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
“Universities can’t raise fees unless Parliament approves it. The government must, therefore, provide sufficient funding so they don’t rely solely on the little revenue they generate,” he stressed.
Koomson urged the government to assess whether the current IGF model is sustainable and called on university unions to prioritise staff welfare issues, including the recent cancellation of overtime allowances, which he said has sparked discontent.
He warned that neglect of these issues could lead to a brain drain, as frustrated lecturers and professors consider leaving the country in search of better opportunities.
SA
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