We'll form committee to probe UEW unrest - Governing Council

The Governing Council of the University of Education (UEW) is to set up a committee to investigate the recent disturbances at the school.

The university was shut down indefinitely following a three-day protest by the students which turned chaotic.

They were protesting against the dismissal of some senior staff of the university.

According to the Governing Council, the destruction of properties by the students during the protest is estimated at Ghc 250, 000.

Addressing the press on Monday, a member of the Governing Council of the University, John Darko said the committee, yet to be formed, will be expected to recommend ways of preventing such occurrences in the future.

“The Council is in the process of constituting an investigative committee to unravel the circumstances and rationale behind the unrest. The terms of reference for the committee will also include suggesting ways to prevent such unfortunate occurrences in the future,” he said.

Council prepared to address concerns 

The Council also expressed readiness to receive any petition from affected staff for the review of the decision taken against them.

According to John Darko, the Council will not relent on its efforts to addressing the concerns of all who are troubled by the chaos in a bid to end the current stalemate.

“Based on the appeals we have received from well-meaning Ghanaians and other personalities, the Governing Council wants to state that, for the affected staff, those who wish to petition this council regarding either, their dismissal, termination or demotion, will be received. We will submit it to the appropriate boards and sub-committee for consideration. And for such cases, we will only take it on case by case basis,” he added.

UTAG fears disruptions in UEW academic calendar over chaos

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) had called for calm at the University of Education, Winneba.

The Association insisted that the call was necessary to prevent any negative consequences of the recent troubles on the academic calendar as well as the general output of the institution.

Dr. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, the UTAG Secretary at the University, told Citi News, there was an urgent need for things to be normalized at the University so academic work can resume.

“Our vision as UTAG especially when it come to UEW is that the management did not adhere to the call of the president because if within this spate of time, less than 6 months thereabout and you have all these kind of things happening, it is not right,” he said.

Trouble brewing at UEW

There has been ensuing chaos at the UEW campus owing to what has been described as a leadership crisis.

There have been calls for the Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof. Afful Broni to resign.

The demand was also accompanied by calls for lecturers and other staff who have been sacked to be immediately reinstated.

The situation led to series of protests by students, including a violent one last Thursday that resulted in the destruction of several school properties, forcing the police to fire tear gas to disperse the angry student protesters who were at the time pelting stones at the security officers.

Meanwhile the University of Education, Winneba remains closed, as students were directed to vacate the campus last week.

The Central Regional Minister, Kwamina Duncan on Thursday justified the Regional Security Council’s decision to shut down the University of Education, Winneba, saying the move was to prevent further destruction of the institution’s properties.

By: Nii Larte Lartey|citinewsroom.com | Ghana |[email protected]

Source: citifmonline.com