KsTU programme deferral: There'll be special exams for you – Academic Board to students

Non-registered students of the Kumasi Technical University who were directed by the authorities to defer their courses will have the chance to write their End-of-Second Semester Examinations for the 2022/2023 academic year.

This follows a decision by the University to have the students write a special examination.

A statement issued by the University indicated that the Academic Board held an Emergency Meeting on Monday, 14 August 2023 to discuss the deferment of programme of the non-registered students.

According to the statement, at the meeting, the Board decided that "special examinations shall be organised later for non-registered students after the End-of-Second Semester Examinations (2022/2023).”

However, “only affected students who have paid their school fees in full and appropriate penalties shall qualify to write the special examinations” while the modalities for the “special examinations shall be communicated in due course.”

It urged all affected students who are interested, to write to their “heads of department with their student details for consideration latest by Tuesday, 22 August 2023".

Also, affected students who are on “industrial attachment/internship are included in this arrangement,” the University added.

The authorities of the University refuted claims that some students were sacked over delay in payment of fees.

This came on the back of reports by some media outlets that the University had sacked about 2,000 of its students over delays in payment of fees leading to tension on campus.

Reacting to the reports, the University, in a statement, noted that “no student has been sacked. Rather, students who have not registered for the Second Semester of the 2022/2023 Academic Year, were asked to defer their programmes for that semester after the university made several concessions to get all students to register.”

The University noted that the deadline for students to register was “29 May 2023” per its academic calendar.

According to the University, it sent “a notice to all students on 24 May 2023 to remind them of the deadline; and also announce designated offices to assist any student who had difficulties in connection with his or her registration.”

The University further noted that the deadline was extended in a notice it sent on 29 May 2023 to 5 June 2023 after it noticed a significant number of students had not registered.

Also, due to several pleas from students and the University community, the deadline for students’ registration was again extended to 9th July 2023 in a notice to students on 30 June.

However, following a meeting between the Executives of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and the University Management at which the SRC pleaded again for the students’ registration to be extended, the date was extended to 28th July, 2023.

It revealed that: “The SRC, at the end of the above deadline, again asked for another extension, though the End-of-Second-Semester Examinations were starting on 5th August 2023. The SRC set its own registration deadline for its members, which was 3rd August 2023 after which the University would not entertain any concessions".

"Despite the executives of the SRC setting a deadline of 3rd August 2023, the University added a human face and formally ended course registration for students on 7th August 2023, when even the End-of-Second-Semester Examination had begun.”

It stressed that there are still “648 students who have not registered,” as opposed to the 2,000 stated by some media houses, thus, the decision by the Academic Board for students to defer their programmes was based on “Non-Registration and not the issue of payment of fees.”

It added: “There is no tension on campus as over 11,000 students who registered for the Second Semester of 2022/2023 Academic Year are comfortably writing their examinations without any difficulty.”

But the affected students of the University hinted at intentions of demonstrating against them.