The government has officially approved the payment of the Book and Research Allowance for senior members of public universities and Colleges of Education for the 2024/2025 academic year.
According to the approved disbursement framework, academic staff across Ghana’s tertiary education institutions will receive $1,500 as Book Allowance and $1,600 as Research Allowance.
Non-academic senior staff are also entitled to $1,500 as Book Allowance. The Ghana cedi equivalent will be calculated using the Bank of Ghana’s average exchange rate of GHS15.47 to $1.00, covering the period from September 2, 2024, to March 28, 2025.
This directive covers all public tertiary institutions and members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), and it clearly stipulates that only senior members are eligible for these allowances.
In a June 2025 circular, the Ministry of Finance emphasised that all claims must be audited and validated by the Internal Audit Units of each institution before submission to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) for processing and payment.
Institutions are required to submit two copies of audited claims for both academic and non-academic senior members using a standardised claims template provided in the official communication.
This development in the Ghana tertiary education sector comes at a time of heightened tension over issues such as salary arrears, cost-of-living concerns, and outstanding staff allowances, potentially prompting swift action from educational institutions.
Earlier, three major teachers’ unions in Ghana threatened to embark on a strike.
The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) — have issued a strong warning to the government, threatening a nationwide strike if delays in the payment of the 2025 book and research allowance are not addressed immediately.
In a joint press release dated Monday, June 9, 2025, the unions expressed deep frustration over what they described as an “undue delay” in the release of the official foreign exchange rate, which is crucial for calculating and disbursing the annual book and research allowance for lecturers.
According to UTAG, TUTAG, and CETAG, the government’s failure to provide clarity on the exchange rate is undermining academic work across tertiary institutions.
The unions emphasised that the allowance is vital for supporting faculty research, professional development, and the purchase of academic resources such as books and journals.
