Education Ministry rejects request to rollover Vice-Chancellors' statutory retirement age
In a letter sighted by Dennislaw News, the Chief Director, Lydia Essuah, who wrote on behalf of the Minister, indicates that after reviewing the relevant constitutional and policy provisions, it is “unable to approve the request.”
The Ministry of Education has turned down a request from Vice Chancellors Ghana (VCG) to roll over serving vice-chancellors beyond the compulsory retirement age of 60 in the name of “seamless transitions” in public universities.
In a letter sighted by Dennislaw News, the Chief Director, Lydia Essuah, who wrote on behalf of the Minister, confirms it has “carefully considered” the proposal but, after reviewing the relevant constitutional and policy provisions, is “unable to approve the request" by the Vice Chancellors of Ghana.
The ministry’s position is that the retirement of a vice-chancellor does not amount to an exigency of service that would justify an extension or rollover beyond the statutory retirement age.
It stresses that the existing statutes of public universities already provide adequate mechanisms—such as acting appointments and transitional arrangements—to guarantee continuity in leadership and academic administration when a substantive vice-chancellor exits.
The Education Ministry, therefore, asked universities to double down on proactive succession planning and leadership development pipelines to ensure smooth handovers without disrupting teaching, research, or management operations.
