The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has directed all public universities in the country to reopen their campuses for the 2026/2027 academic year by Friday, October 16.
The directive, issued in a letter dated October 13, 2026, also requires academic activities, particularly lectures, to commence on Monday, October 19.
It comes amid disruptions to preparations for the 2026/2027 academic year following industrial action by the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA).
Both the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) postponed their scheduled reopening dates amid the strike.
The Commission said the directive followed an instruction from the Minister of Education and was intended to minimize the far-reaching consequences of the prolonged suspension of academic activities.
While acknowledging the administrative challenges arising from the industrial action, GTEC maintained that the indefinite suspension of academic activities had implications for students’ academic progression, institutional operations, national tertiary education delivery, and international academic partnerships.
GTEC said the government, through the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), had initiated engagements with GAUA’s leadership to facilitate the speedy resolution of outstanding grievances.
Under the directive, members of GAUA are also expected to resume their administrative duties within the framework of the ongoing good-faith negotiations between the government and the association.
The Commission has further instructed university managements to ensure that essential student support facilities are fully staffed and operational by Thursday, October 15.
The facilities include halls of residence, academic libraries, departmental registration desks, and other services required to support students’ return to campus.
GTEC stressed that the reopening and commencement-of-lectures deadlines were mandatory, regardless of any earlier decisions by individual universities to postpone reopening.
