University administrators strike stalls academic activities at UCC

The ongoing strike by members of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) is having a toll on the administration of academic affairs in public universities in the country, particularly the University of Cape Coast (UCC), which was re-opened just last week. The situation has led to some fresh students getting stranded on campus, with others unable to complete their academic registration exercises.

Although some students could be seen moving around the campus and registering at their respective halls of residence, actual academic registration and other administrative processes have ceased following the absence of the GAUA members. The situation is particularly frustrating for fresh students who are unfamiliar with the university, and therefore, have to depend on administrative staff for guidance on registration, orientation and other processes.

When this reporter visited the UCC campus yesterday, postgraduate students were undergoing orientation  which, according to some students, was originally scheduled for September 17, but had to be postponed because of the strike. An MPhil candidate, Priscilla Loo, said the strike had made it difficult for students to complete their course registration despite having paid their fees. She said the absence of administrative staff was also affecting the organisation of orientation programmes for new students.

“The postgraduate orientation was supposed to be held on September 17, 2026, but it had to be  postponed; we are now having it,” Ms Loo said. She said senior and junior assistant registrars who were expected to play roles in the orientation were not available. A senior staff member of UCC who is not a member of GAUA, Bismark Achampong, also said that the strike was affecting the processing of documents and other administrative services.

He said past students who had applied for transcripts, English proficiency certificates and other such documents could experience delays because the processes required the active involvement of administrative staff. Mr Achampong said some university programmes could also be affected if the strike continued. He cited matriculation and other university approved programmes as activities that could face difficulties because of the absence of the administrators.

Another student, George Haizel, appealed to the government to resolve the issue urgently to prevent further disruption of the academic calendar. “This situation, if not resolved immediately, will affect the academic timetable. And this will compel the lecturers to go at a fast rate, which will let students suffer the more,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UCC Chapter president of GAUA, Alfred Attom Prah, said the association would maintain the strike until the government responded positively to its demands. He said members performed critical functions within the university, including academic administration, finance, ICT, legal services and other professional and administrative duties.

“Everything has come to a halt because the government is not listening to us, is not giving us a fair hearing and they keep on promising. “We are making certain demands, we set out certain demands, and those demands have not yet been met. So, it means that the status quo remains. We are on strike until our issues are satisfactorily resolved,” Mr Prah said.

He said the association’s earlier meeting with the Minister of Education over the matter  ended inconclusively. Mr Prah said a follow-up meeting was yet to take place, but “as it is now, the strike is on, waiting for the government’s positive response to our demands”.