NUGS defers Achimota School Rasta statement due to meeting with GIJ management

The National Union of Ghana Students, NUGS, have deferred a press conference it had called to give a position on the Achimota School Rastafarian students saga.

A March 25 statement signed by its General Secretary, Divine Edem Kwadzodeh, said the move was to allow them to meet management of the Ghana Institute of Journalism over an ongoing impasse after the school ordered some students to defer their courses over late fees payment.

The NUGS statement said the union, along with other groups such as the Ghana Union of Professional Students and other local student leadership structures, had secured a meeting with GIJ management.

“Given as this meeting is scheduled for today, the Union’s planned press conference on the issue as well as the Achimota School brouhaha has been postponed; and will be held later after the conclusion of the meeting with the GIJ management. The new date and time will be communicated,” the statement added.

The Achimota School brouhaha as they put it is a week-old saga that has hogged the news headlines after the Accra-based Senior High School refused to admit two students because they had dreadlocks.

The school has been supported by the Ghana Education Service and its PTA and Old Students Association. The two main teacher groups – GNAT and NAGRAT – have also backed their position citing the need for uniformity and conformity in enforcing school rules.

On the flip side, human rights groups and a number of social commentators have slammed the school for highhandedness in their entrenched position on the matter.