Gov’t approves book and research allowances for Senior University Staff

By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi

The Government of Ghana has approved the payment of Book and Research Allowances for senior members of public universities and colleges of education for the 2024/2025 academic year.

Under the approved structure, academic staff across public tertiary institutions will receive USD1,500 as Book Allowance and USD1,600 as Research Allowance, while non-academic senior staff will receive USD1,500 as Book Allowance only. The amounts will be paid in cedi equivalents using an exchange rate of GHS15.47 to USD1.00, based on the Bank of Ghana’s average rate covering the period from September 2, 2024, to March 28, 2025.

The directive, which applies to all public universities and members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), specifies that only senior members are eligible for these payments.

.The approval follows a warning issued by three major tertiary education unions—the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), and CETAG—who jointly threatened a nationwide strike if the government failed to release the approved exchange rate and facilitate payments by June 13, 2025.

In a joint statement released on Monday, June 9, the unions accused the government of creating “significant uncertainty and frustration” among their members by delaying the release of the benchmark exchange rate, which is critical to determining the cedi equivalent of their allowances.

They noted that many senior academic staff depend on these allowances to fund research activities, buy books, and support their scholarly work. The unions emphasized that the book and research allowances are statutory entitlements under their Conditions of Service—not discretionary payouts.

Deadline for Payment

Following a joint meeting held on June 8, the unions agreed to allow for the late release of the exchange rate but made it clear that no extension of the payment deadline beyond September 2025 will be tolerated.

They warned that if the government fails to meet the June 13 deadline, they would treat the lapse as an official trigger for industrial action across all public tertiary campuses nationwide.