Media Without Borders has gathered some information indicating that some residents of Sumbrungu, a community in Bolgatanga, are gearing up for a joint protest this morning against the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai.
It is the first time such a protest is looming against a GTEC boss in the Upper East Region’s capital.
The reported action is intended to stop Jinapor’s move to reverse two decisions the university’s Governing Council, chaired by one of Ghana’s distinguished anti-corruption crusaders, Dr. Bishop Akolgo, is said to have taken in the public interest.
Sources say members of the community are set to demonstrate at the main gate of the university’s main campus at Sumbrungu where Jinapor is reportedly scheduled to hold a meeting at 10:00 a.m. local time today to have the council’s decisions reversed.
Background
The governing council had decided during a meeting held on Thursday, 11 December 2025, that the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Erasmus Alnaa, should proceed on his accrued annual leave, commencing December 19, 2025, and ending December 18, 2026.
The council also directed that the university’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Peter Osei Boamah, should take over as Acting Vice-Chancellor, starting 19th December, 2025, until further notice, and appointed Richard Abugre Atia as substantive Registrar, effective January 1, 2026.
The decisions were communicated to the university community through a circular dated 15th December, 2025.
In response, Jinapor wrote a letter, dated 15th December, 2025, directing that the governing council suspend action on the decisions.
He claimed the decisions were “potentially problematic” and could “create unforeseen negative consequences.
Subsequently, the governing council responded to GTEC, insisting that Prof. Alnaa take his accumulated annual leave from Friday, 19 December 2025, with Prof. Boamah stepping in as Acting Vice-Chancellor until further notice.
The council also stated it would respond appropriately to GTEC on the matter.
The council had received several petitions lodged against the vice-chancellor by some staff of the university, Sumbrungu residents and the Bolgatanga Traditional Council before the council’s directive that he should go on leave.
Many strongly suspect the council wants to investigate the vice-chancellor and that the GTEC Director-General wants to shield him from accountability.
Meanwhile, some university lecturers in Ghana have praised Dr. Akolgo and urged him to remain as steadfast on the matter as he has always been throughout his life.
The lecturers say GTEC has no authority to direct a university governing council on university governance issues.
“The Chairman of the Council is an appointee of the President. Once it is a public institution, it is controlled by the government. When Governing Councils are inaugurated, it is done by the Minister of Education on behalf of the President. The Governing Council, through the Chairman, speaks to the President through the Minister of Education. The GTEC Director-General is an appointee of the government, just like the GTEC Board also has an appointee of the government.
“How can one appointee of the government be directing another appointee of the same government or the President? The GTEC Director-General is there to regulate, not to control, not to direct. As a Director-General, his duty is to come out with the regulations. The first question is: what are the regulations? The second question is: how did those regulations come out?” the lecturers stated in a piece issued last month.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana/ West Africa
