By Charles S. Amponsah
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has revealed that Cabinet has directed the reversal of all public university name changes made during President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration. Institutions that were renamed after prominent individuals will return to their original titles.
He made the announcement on the floor of Parliament in Accra on Tuesday, October 21, shortly after the Speaker invited him to deliver warm words of welcome to MPs following the parliamentary recess. Earlier, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, had welcomed colleagues to the third sitting of the first session of the ninth Parliament.
In his address, the Bawku Central MP discussed a range of issues affecting different sectors, highlighting government priorities and forthcoming legislative business, including key proposals from the Ministries of Education and Health.
“Mr. Speaker, there has been a Cabinet directive to revert the names of all universities that were renamed after individuals back to their original titles. A bill will be presented to this House to implement this change,” he told MPs.
He added that Parliament would also consider other legislation in the coming weeks, including laws and regulations covering the Ghana Book Development Council, the University of Engineering and Agricultural Science at Bunsu, the College of Education, the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Chain, the National Teaching Council, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the National Schools Inspectorate Authority, and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission. If these measures receive Cabinet approval, Mr. Ayariga said Parliament will face a packed legislative schedule alongside scrutiny of the national budget.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of the renaming exercise under the Akufo-Addo administration, which saw several public universities and polytechnics renamed in honour of prominent national figures. The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa was renamed George Grant University of Mines and Technology in 2018, in recognition of the founding President of the United Gold Coast Convention. The Wa campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS) became the Simon Dombu University of Business and Integrated Development Studies in 2019, while the Navrongo campus of UDS was renamed C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences. Ho Technical University was also renamed Ephraim Amu Technical University.
The exercise drew criticism from the then-opposition National Democratic Congress, which argued that the decision appeared politically selective.
