Academic freedom should never again be impounded – minister warns

Minister of state in charge of tertiary education, Professor Kwesi Yankah has stated that the demolition of the main gate leading to the University of Ghana is an infringement on its privacy, an assault on the school’s autonomy and a threat to academic freedom.

Speaking during a public lecture held at the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the minister described the second reprisal attack as worrying since it took place after further negotiations with government and clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Professor Yankah expressed disappointment at the State Security for assaulting the boundaries of the university; it used to raze down unauthorized structures, secure lost school lands and protected it.

He further mentioned, the violence repeatedly unleashed within a 250-meter radius of the international hostels may have worsened anxieties, reinforced stereotypes about the constant instability of tertiary education in Africa.

He is worried that once universities assert their independence as centers of academic freedom and exercise the liberty to criticize public policies, they become objects of suspicion by insecure governments.

He added that outcomes have consistently been an orchestrated scheme of subjecting their institutions to control, infiltration of their ranks, intimidation, harassment and appointment termination.

The minister, however, stated that scholars should have the freedom to teach, learn and communicate ideas without censor, harassment, or persecution.