The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Mr. Abraham Koomson, has appealed to the government to provide stronger financial and logistical support to the University of Ghana to enhance teaching and learning conditions.

Speaking on Ahotor FM’s Yepe Ahunu show on Saturday, October 25, 2025, Mr. Koomson expressed concern that persistent challenges at the country’s premier university were gradually undermining the quality of education and demoralising both academic and non-academic staff.

He noted that many lecturers and professors were unhappy due to delayed salary payments, inadequate facilities, and broken teaching equipment that often went unrepaired.

“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 stated.

While commending President John Dramani Mahama’s newly launched Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative, Mr. Koomson cautioned that free education policies must be matched with adequate investment in the universities to ensure quality outcomes.

“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.

Mr. Koomson further explained that public universities are restricted from arbitrarily increasing fees without parliamentary approval, limiting their ability to generate sufficient revenue for their operations.

“Universities can’t increase fees unless Parliament approves it.

The government must, therefore, provide sufficient funding so they don’t rely solely on the little revenue it generates. Otherwise, the quality of education will suffer,” he emphasized.

He also expressed concern over the limited Internally Generated Funds (IGF) available to the University of Ghana, urging the government to evaluate whether the IGF alone could sustain the institution’s operations.

The GFL Secretary-General advised the various staff unions at the University of Ghana to prioritise addressing welfare concerns, including the recent cancellation of overtime allowances, which he said had caused growing dissatisfaction among employees.

“Some of the staff are unhappy with the cancellation of overtime payments, and it’s creating grievances.

The IGF cannot sustain the university, and if the government truly wants quality education, it must support the institution,” he urged.

Mr. Koomson warned that continued neglect of these challenges could lead to an exodus of experienced lecturers and professors, further weakening Ghana’s higher education system.

“Some of the professors are already frustrated and considering leaving the country,” he cautioned.