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Tag: Univeristy of Ghana

  • Commonwealth hall saga: Do the right thing; reinstate students – Clement Apaak tells UG

    Commonwealth hall saga: Do the right thing; reinstate students – Clement Apaak tells UG

    The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, has asked the management of the University of Ghana to reinstate students of the Commonwealth who were evicted from the hostel.

    He called on parliament and Ghanaians to impress upon the University of Ghana to do the needful by respecting the laws of the land.

    According to him, the Management of the university has refused to reinstate students who resided in the Commonwealth Hall as ordered by the Court.

    He described the action as unacceptable, unlawful adding that it must not be tolerated.

    “Mr. Speaker, we the alumni of Commonwealth Hall, known popularly as OLD VANDALS in this Parliament of Ghana, back calls by associations and individuals who have called on the Management of the University of Ghana to heed the decision of the Court, and to ensure that continuing students who resided in the Commonwealth Hall are reinstated to provide them the peace of mind for their academic activities pending the final determination of the case.

    “The continuous refusal by the Management of the University of Ghana to reinstate the affected students as ordered by the Court is unacceptable, unlawful and must not be countenanced. Mr. Speaker, we call on you, and this august house, to join us and well-meaning Ghanaians to impress upon the University of Ghana to do the needful by respecting the laws of the land,” he said on the floor of the house.

    A decision by the Council of the University of Ghana to eject all continuing students from two halls of residence; Mensah Sarbah Hall and Commonwealth Hall has resulted in a tussle between the management of the school on one hand and students as well as some old students on another hand.

    On the night of August 6, 2022, students of the Commonwealth Hall and Mensah Sarbah Hall engaged in a series of clashes that resulted in some injuries and the destruction of several properties.

    In a statement dated August 6, 2022, the management said it had commenced efforts to identify the perpetrators while working to ensure the peace and stability on all the campuses of the university.

    The management would later announce a ban on the holding of events and the gathering of students as a measure to curb the violence.

    Following the decision by the Management of the university to remove all continuing students who resided in the Commonwealth Hall and to replace same with freshers and graduate students, some students sought redress in Court.

    The High Court, on January 6 2023, granted an ex parte application for an interlocutory injunction to the students and ordered the University of Ghana and its officers, assigns, privies, agents, workmen and all persons working under its instructions to refrain from implementing the decision of the Respondent’s Residence Board taken at its meeting held on 26th October 2022, in respect of the residential policy affecting all continuing students of the Commonwealth Hall for 10 days.

    Since the granting of this order, the Management of the University of Ghana have refused to act in accordance with the dictates of the order.

  • Many university students being trained for jobs that don’t exist – Minister

    Many university students being trained for jobs that don’t exist – Minister

    The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has stated that several public universities in the country run programs that turn out graduates who are unemployed.

    According to him, thousands were graduating from Ghanaian universities and looking for nonexistent jobs. Dr Adutwum said his outfit was engaging universities to focus on courses that have relevance to the nation as well as graduates.

    He said the country had a serious challenge in terms of some of the courses that were being offered by public universities, adding that many students accepted to enrol in such programmes because they just want to attend the university.

    “If you look at distance learning programmes across the length and breadth of this country, especially championed by the University of Cape Coast, so many students have been enrolled in Diploma in Education, they are being trained for jobs that do not exist,” Dr Adutwum said on Tuesday at the ongoing Annual New Year School at the University of Ghana, Legon.

    “Thousands and thousands are graduating for jobs that do not exist, so we had a conversation with them (the universities). One favourite course that I always cite is what is called Sanitation Education but there is no course in Sanitation to be taught. Development Education, Development Education for what? UDS, Development Studies Undergraduate Programme, for what job? So, yes, I am fully aware and we are engaging the universities. I think we need to focus on courses that have relevance to that particular student and to the nation”.

    He added that there was a Bachelor of Arts in Education programme at a university that was supposed to prepare students for a “non-existent teaching job”.

    Dr Adutwum said because of limited guidance and counselling at public universities, many students could not turn down such programmes when it was offered to them.

    He said Ghana’s unemployment situation could also be linked to the training of graduates by universities for jobs that do not exist in the country.

    Source: Graphic.com.gh

  • Our lawyers will vigorously defend the University – UG on court injunction

    Our lawyers will vigorously defend the University – UG on court injunction

    The University of Ghana has notified its preparedness to defend a new residential policy being challenged by some Commonwealth Hall students who have filed a lawsuit against the university.

    The management said that the court’s order compelling the University to change its accommodation policy decision would be contested by its lawyers.

    In a press statement signed by the Registrar, the university argued that the order in which the injunction was obtained against the institution lacked the basis of inaccurate information. Therefore, management was ready to appeal the decision.

    “Management of the University of Ghana has received a copy of an order for an injunction issued by the High Court, Commercial Division, Accra. This order was secured by eight (8) persons purporting to be residents of Commonwealth Hall. The order is valid for ten (10) days only as it was made without prior notice to the University. The order seeks to restrain the University from implementing a residential policy decision affecting continuing students of Commonwealth Hall.

    “The University believes that the order was obtained on the basis of inaccurate information. Accordingly, the lawyers of the university have been instructed to vigorously defend the University in court,” part of the statement read.

    An Accra High Court recently placed an interlocutory injunction on the residential policy decision by the management of the University.

    This was after some frustrated students of the Commonwealth Hall on Friday, January 6, 2023, filed a lawsuit against the university for directing residing students to seek accommodation outside the campus.

    The university’s administration issued an order intending to remove all continuing male students from the halls due to a violent confrontation that occurred on August 15, 2022, between Commonwealth and a rival hall.

    Source: Ghanaweb