The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) is at the center of a growing governance crisis following allegations of a deliberate power grab by the institution’s Vice Chancellor, which a senior academic has described as an “academic coup.”
In a strongly worded petition addressed to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and copied to the Western Regional Minister, Associate Professor George Agyei, Head of the Department of Mining Engineering at UMaT, accused the Vice Chancellor of consistently breaching the university’s statutes and fostering a climate of fear and autocracy.
Assoc. Prof. Agyei’s petition challenges the legitimacy of a Disciplinary Committee he says was illegally constituted by appointing loyalists while excluding duly elected representatives from Convocation, a move he considers a violation of university governance procedures.
According to the statement, the crisis deepened after a suspicious attempt to retroactively legitimize the committee through a hastily rescheduled Convocation meeting with a reconstitution agenda.
Other accusations include the alleged illegal promotion of Dr. Bright Oppong Afum while on leave, improper appointments made without departmental input, and the unjust granting of leave to a staff member who had allegedly abandoned duty.
The petition also cites deliberate delays in Assoc. Prof. Agyei’s own promotion process and the Vice Chancellor’s consistent disregard for formal petitions.
“These actions represent a systematic attempt to erode transparency, accountability, and due process within UMaT,” the statement available this portal read.
The petition calls for five key measures, including the immediate nullification of actions taken by unlawfully constituted committees, enforcement of proper election procedures for committee representatives, respect for departmental recommendations in promotions, an internal governance audit, and disciplinary action against the Vice Chancellor.
Assoc. Prof. Agyei urged the Ministry of Education, GTEC, and the broader academic community to step in, warning that the situation at UMaT represents a broader threat to democratic governance in Ghana’s tertiary education system.
“This is not only a UMaT crisis; it is a test of the resilience of Ghana’s higher education governance,” he concluded.
At the time of filing this report, neither the Vice Chancellor nor UMaT’s Governing Council has issued an official response.
