‘Ensure decent behaviour on campuses’

A Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has urged student leaders to ensure decent behaviour on the various campuses after the verdict on the election petition has been given by the Supreme Court.

“Your campuses should not be arenas for riots and the destruction of property when the Supreme Court announces the verdict on the ongoing election petition,” he stressed.

Mr Ablakwa was addressing the leadership of students of tertiary institutions across the country at a forum on varied matters affecting the students and how to find common solutions to them in Accra last Tuesday.

In attendance were representatives of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), the University Students Association of Ghana (USAG), the Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS) and the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG).

Others were representatives of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG), the Ghana Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) and the Private Universities Students Association of Ghana.

Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa said the student leaders must be aware of the Public Order Act, so that they did not mobilise their fellow students onto the streets without due regard for the law.

He said because peace was a prerequisite for smooth academic work, it was necessary that they maintained an atmosphere of tranquillity at all times.

Concerning loans for students in tertiary institutions, he said 16,000 students, comprising those in public and private tertiary institutions, accessed the loans annually and made it clear that the facility did not benefit only students in public institutions.

He assured the students of the government’s commitment to address the challenges confronting their various institutions, particularly infrastructure and security.

The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Prof Mahama Duwiejua, appealed to the student leaders to work hand-in-hand with the commission to help expand access to tertiary education and promote its quality as well.

He promised that the NCTE would give the needed attention to issues that were raised by the student leaders and find solutions to them.

By Timothy Gobah & Mary Ampeh