The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has called for stronger safeguards to protect the pension benefits of university staff, stressing the need for reforms to secure retirement income and improve the investment of pension funds.

Mr Iddrisu made the call after a closed-door meeting with Vice-Chancellors Ghana (VCG) in Accra on Friday, where discussions focused on staff welfare, pension management, university fees and the growing financial pressures facing tertiary institutions.

According to him, post-retirement security must be treated as a priority alongside wider reforms in the education sector, adding that government was considering legislative and policy measures to strengthen oversight and standards.

“For pension funds, we need to take a collective decision on what role the National Pensions Regulatory Authority can play,” the minister said, noting that improved regulation would help safeguard the retirement income of university staff.

Mr Iddrisu noted that existing pension arrangements did not always allow for meaningful and beneficial investment, limiting the long-term value of funds for contributors.

He said reforms should enable universities to invest pension funds in ways that benefitted both the staff and the institution, while ensuring sustainability and prudent management.

He assured stakeholders that changes would be developed through consultation with university authorities and relevant regulators to promote transparency and confidence in the system.

Beyond pensions, the minister proposed the establishment of a standing committee to review university fees on an annual basis. He said the committee, which could be chaired at deputy minister level, should include representatives of university management, the tertiary education directorate and students.

“We should have your representative and also a representative of the students, whether at the level of NUGS or SRC, so that we can dialogue on necessary adjustments if required,” he said, acknowledging that fee reviews are often contentious but arguing that a predictable process would help reduce conflict.

Mr Iddrisu also raised concerns about the high cost of utilities on university campuses, describing water and electricity bills as a major challenge for both institutions and the government, and said these issues would require continued engagement.

The Vice Chancellor of University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) and Chairman of VCG, Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako speaking on behalf of heads of public universities, endorsed the Minister’s proposal to review the process for determining university fees, arguing that parliamentary control over fee approvals often worked to the disadvantage of public universities.

The Vice-Chancellors further raised concerns about staffing shortages, noting that public universities had been unable to recruit new staff for nearly three years due to the lack of clearance.

They called for the automatic replacement of retiring staff, explaining that such appointments would not increase the government wage bill since the outgoing staff were already on the payroll.

In addition, they disclosed that several lecturers who had completed doctoral programmes were currently teaching on contract because universities lacked clearance to employ them permanently, placing additional pressure on internally generated funds.

BY CLIFF EKUFUL & RAYMOND APPIAH-AMPONSAH