Sunyani Poly students join nation-wide demonstrations

Sunyani, Oct. 20, GNA - Students of Sunyani Polytechnic, on Tuesday joined their colleagues in a nationwide demonstration to register their protest about the intermittent strike actions by their lecturers over conditions of service.

Wearing red and black dresses the students marched through the principal streets of Sunyani and ended up at the Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinating Council premises where they presented a petition to the government, which was received by Mr Ernest Opoku, Deputy Regional Minister.

The petition from the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) was presented by Mr Bright Adu Adjei, Regional representative of the students' body.

Inscriptions on some of the placards the students held aloft during the demonstration were "Why the big gap between the polytechnic student and the university student", "Respect the professionals" and "Mr President remember 2012".

Mr Opoku appealed to the students to avoid violence during their demonstration and to be cautious in articulating their concerns and not to take the law into their hands.

"The nation is for the future leader and needs to be protected, not to be destroyed," he said and called on the leadership to ensure a peaceful demonstration.

The deputy regional minister called on the GNUPS to co-operate with government in achieving the goals of the Better Ghana agenda and gave assurance that their petition would be sent to President John Atta Mills for their concerns to be addressed "in the shortest possible time". The students registered their disappointment that the leadership of Polytechnic Teachers Association (POTAG) had unanimously resolved that the government through the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) had failed to negotiate on the conditions of service of members since 2008. "The lackadaisical attitude of the fair wages and salaries commission has led to many strikes, which have made Polytechnics in the country almost synonymous with places of unrest in the eyes of the public.

"Article 25 of the national constitution talks about the right to education and as such the continuous neglect of polytechnic education must come to a halt. Not only do we find it as unfortunate, unfair and unjust but also an inhumane treatment that we can clearly refer to as an educational racism," the students said in the petition. They noted that the attitude of the FWSC had led to many strikes in the country, which in the long run would derail the promising future of the youth.

Not much attention has been given to polytechnics in the country and it is our hope that the needed attention will be given to the myriad of challenges confronting students.

The petition said the GNUPS had taken notice of the promises the government made with respect to place emphasis on science and technical education.

The students expressed the belief that the Better Ghana agenda could be achieved if the government placed emphasis on resourcing the polytechnics, better remuneration for teachers and non-teaching staff, as well as committing more resources for research. They called on the government to find an appropriate and lasting solution to the legitimate demands of POTAG rather than the lip service approach.