The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has suspended the processing of all major requests from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) until the university complies with its directive regarding the tenure of Vice-Chancellor Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong.
In a letter dated Monday, September 22, 2025, and addressed to the UCC Registrar, GTEC said the action follows a High Court injunction issued on October 8, 2024, which bars the university’s Governing Council from making any decision on Prof. Boampong’s appointment. Despite the injunction, the Commission noted, Prof. Boampong continues to remain in office beyond the mandatory retirement age of 60.
As a result, GTEC announced it will no longer process UCC’s requests related to:
- Accreditation of programmes
- Salaries and government subventions
- GETFund support
- Book and Research Allowances
- Post-retirement contracts
- Financial clearance for recruitment
- Any other administrative or financial approvals
The directive, signed by Prof. Augustine Ocloo, Acting Deputy Director-General of GTEC, takes immediate effect and will remain until UCC provides evidence of full compliance.
GTEC’s website has also been updated to indicate that UCC has been temporarily removed from the list of public universities, with a note suggesting the university “does not exist.”
This latest move follows GTEC’s earlier letter dated September 19, 2025, which directed Prof. Boampong to vacate his post. The Commission cited Article 199(1) of the Constitution and the UCC Statutes (2016), which limit the Vice-Chancellor’s tenure to four years, renewable for three more, provided the statutory retirement age is not exceeded.
In the interim, GTEC instructed Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Denis Worlanyo Aheto, to act as Vice-Chancellor.
While acknowledging that the dispute is still before the Cape Coast High Court, GTEC maintained that the UCC Governing Council must suspend the appointment of a substantive Vice-Chancellor until the legal issues surrounding Prof. Boampong’s tenure are fully resolved.
