Slowdown, Not Showdown: GTEC Must Jaw-Jaw, Not War-War- Kwaku Azar Writes

The recent brouhaha between GTEC and UCC over the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure, a matter already before the courts, is one that neither party needs. GOGO has urged GTEC to hold its horses, but that advice has fallen on deaf ears. Instead, GTEC has chosen a showdown when what is needed is a slowdown.

Here are the top ten reasons why GTEC must de-escalate immediately:
1. Judicial Interference: The VC’s tenure dispute is before the courts. By enforcing its own directive, GTEC undermines judicial authority and risks contempt of court.

2. Mandate Overreach: GTEC was created to regulate quality and standards, not to dictate university leadership tenure. Straying into governance politics exceeds its lawful mandate.

3. Collective Punishment: Freezing accreditation, salaries, and allowances punishes students, lecturers, and staff who have no control over the VC’s appointment.

4. Academic Autonomy: Universities must have room to govern themselves within statute and law. Heavy-handed directives erode the principle of academic freedom and institutional independence.

5. Disproportionate Sanctions: Delisting UCC and suspending all support is a “nuclear option.” Even if rules were breached, sanctions must be proportionate, not destructive.

6. Reputational Damage: Wiping UCC off the public universities list tarnishes the country’s higher education reputation globally, undermining international partnerships and student recruitment. Measured in history and impact, UCC towers above GTEC.

7. Student Welfare at Risk: Accreditation freezes and financial suspensions threaten current students’ degrees, funding, and welfare. GTEC should protect students, not endanger them.

8. Destabilizing Research and Development: GETFund and research allowance suspensions halt ongoing projects, hampering research progress and knowledge development.

9. Precedent for Arbitrary Power: If GTEC succeeds here, it normalizes regulatory overreach in future disputes, inviting political abuse of tertiary education regulation.

10. Better Path Exists: Constructive dialogue, court compliance, and targeted remedies exist. Pulling the brakes allows GTEC to refocus on its proper role: ensuring quality, not waging governance battles.

Power must be used effectively and that means through measured, lawful, and proportionate tools tied to GTEC’s actual mandate of accreditation and quality assurance, not through sweeping sanctions that punish the innocent and undermine judicial authority.

Anything less is not regulation; it is overreach. War-war is no way to deal with universities. They cannot be bullied into submission.

By Kwaku Azar

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