UCC saga: USAG slams management over lax security

The University Students Association of Ghana (USAG) says it is weighing going to court over the decision by the management of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to suspend 22 of its students.

USAG wants the Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh to develop interest in the case and take a stance with the association over the matter so that it could prevail upon the university authorities to reconsider their decision in the rustication of the 22 held by the school’s administration for the bloody disturbance last March.

USAG said there should be a more detailed and comprehensive investigations so that the main actors of the vandalism and hooliganism somewhere March linked to that Hall Week Celebration would be brought to book.

The students were rusticated for allegedly engaging in some disturbances on the campus during a hall week celebration in March 2017 which led to the stabbing of three students, one of whom has been paralysed.

Already, some old students of Atlantic Hall of the University of Cape Coast have launched a legal challenge to fight the high handed decision of management of the school.

But in an interview with Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM, President of USAG Emmanuel Kwarteng Frimpong said irrespective of the fact that there is a current case pending, it doesn’t prevent them from filing another suit against the school.

“We as USAG have interest in the matter, because we seek to protect the interest of University students. Bottom line is the students should be given justice, and rather the main perpetrators should be punished.We feel very saddened by this act of miscarriage of justice where people are held responsible for the sins or crimes of others.

“If we are to go by that logic, then at least management should also face sanctions. What were the school security doing? When students paid monies for the management to provide security for the Week Celebration, what went wrong? Why aren’t they holding themselves responsible for their ineptitude in that direction, but rather innocent students are bearing the brunt of these troubles.”

Meanwhile, a High Court in Cape Coast has put a freeze on the suspension of 22 students after the students and their alumni dragged the school to court.