Gyampo, Butakor suspension: UTAG condemns 'undue external interferences'

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has cautioned the management of the school against the “undue external interferences in the discharge” of their mandate as lecturers of the school.

According to UTAG, it does not condone the contravention of the code of conduct set out for members by the university, either.

The University of Ghana recently suspended Prof Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Butakor for six and four months, respectively.

In a statement released by UTAG and signed by its President, Dr Samuel N Nkumbaan, the group said the fact-finding committee constituted by the university to investigate the two lecturers following the BBC’s ‘Sex for Grades’ documentary, “could not establish any case of sex for grades” against their colleagues and the university, in its public and official communication on the matter, has been deficient in communicating the actual finding of the facts and this, in their view, “has not done the university sufficient good in terms of clearing the name and image of our members and the university of the allegations of ‘Sex for Grades’ by the BBC.”

UTAG stated that it was of the opinion that: “The period of their interdiction and the financial implications of the interdiction constituted sufficient punishment and expected the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee to have taken cognisance of that.”

Also, in a communiqué to the management of the university, UTAG suggested “a suspension with retrospective effect from the time of their interdiction, requiring them to refund financial remunerations received during the period of the interdiction (since the suspension is without pay), to lessen the sum of the economic and emotional impact that this has had on them.”

The statement continued that UTAG, however, respects the decision of both Prof Gyampo and Dr Butakor not to pursue the matter further and “serve the sanctions imposed on them” and further commended “them for such a decision even in the hard times they find themselves”.



It further noted that considering the fact that the allegations of sex for grades was not established against both Prof Gyampo and Dr Butakor, it considers the “suspensions as relatively harsh.”

UTAG also added that it “does not and would not condone the contravention of the statutes of the University, the code of conduct for our members, Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Policy and other policies of the University, we would like to caution against the undue external interferences in the discharge of our mandates to the University” and recommended that the university, in moving forward, should find “a fair balance between its desire to protect its name and image on the one hand, and the welfare/wellbeing of members of the University community who make up the university on the other hand.”

UTAG also assured the university of its willingness to work closely with the management of the university, “especially in areas of continuous training and sensitisation of the university community on the codes and policies that govern” the conduct and relationships as members of the university’s community.

Source: ghanaweb.com