Students Threaten Aluta

The long drawn-out impasse between the students at the University of Ghana's External Degree Center and its authorities over the university's decision to have the students undertake their entire four-year under-graduate studies at the external center is taking a turn for the worse.

The students have threatened to demonstrate if the university authorities do not reverse their decision, according to the leadership of the students.

Until the decision was made two years ago, the students spent two years at the external center, also known as Worker's College and the remaining two years on the main campus at Legon. The executive officers of the Students Representative Council (SRC) at the center told Public Agenda that they have so far prevailed on the students not to demonstrate but may not be able to do so for long. "Many of the students are becoming restless over the authorities refusal to change the decision even though we have provided good reasons why they should," said a student's representative.

A source at the External Center however told this paper that the University does not plan to change the decision and that any disturbances by the students may lead to a possible close-down of the center.

She admitted that some of the concerns raised by the students are valid but said that the university has been working hard to have those concerns addressed. She said the students are so fixated with the idea of going to the main Legon campus that they are not willing to see reason.

The student leadership is currently seeking audience with President Kufuor to have him address their problems. They oppose the university's decision on the grounds that the external center does not have the facilities and atmosphere that are congenial for academic work.

According to them, some of their lecturers, who teach part-time, are not regular and the students are also limited in their choice of elective courses due to the lack of lecturers. They also argue that the center's library, which is shared with students from other institutions like the Ghana Institute of Languages and the Social Advanced Institute, is ill-equipped and cannot meet the requirements of full time degree courses.

The students have used various fora to have the impasse resolved in their favour. Early this year they appealed to the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), an action that incurred the displeasure of the university authorities.

Workers

Following the continuous agitation of the students, the university has this academic year admitted only workers above the age of 30. The university authorities are of the belief that the agitation is being encouraged by the younger students who were admitted by virtue of their A'level or SSSCE results, the source said.

The authorities have been particularly unhappy with the leadership of the SRC president at the external center, Samuel Andoh. A letter of reprimand from Legon's Dean of Students, Dr. K.A Bilson, accused the SRC leader of being "confrontational, impevious and impertinent", and using "unsavoury choice of words" in his letters to the university authorities.

The dean's letter warned Andoh that a recurrence of "such behaviour will attract severe punitive sanctions in accordance with university rules and regulations".

The Worker's College was started in the early 1960s to provide university education to workers and mature students. The degree courses were then completed in five years. In the 1990's the university started admitting to the college A'level candidates who were qualified but could not gain direct admission due to lack of space and inadequate facilities on the main campus.