The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has ordered the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong, to step aside, citing his continued tenure past the mandatory retirement age for public officials.
In a letter dated Sept. 19, the Commission stated that Prof. Boampong’s service beyond the age of 60 violates Article 199(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which mandates compulsory retirement for public officers at that age, unless otherwise stipulated.
“The Office of the Vice-Chancellor, being an office established under Section 7(1) of the University of Cape Coast Act, 1992 (PNDCL 278), qualifies as a public office under the Constitution,” GTEC wrote. “Accordingly, any individual holding that office is required to proceed on retirement upon attaining 60 years.”
GTEC further cited the University’s own statutes, which set the Vice-Chancellor’s term at four years, renewable for a second term of three years — provided the appointee has not reached the statutory retirement age.
In the interim, the Commission has directed UCC’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Denis Worlanyo Aheto, to assume the role in an acting capacity.
The matter is currently the subject of litigation before the Cape Coast High Court. GTEC has instructed the university’s Governing Council to suspend the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor pending the court’s decision.
Officials at UCC and representatives of Prof. Boampong could not immediately be reached for comment.
