Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has revealed that the recent shut down of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science in Technology is actually a repeat of history.
According to him, KNUST was shut down for about 2-months in 1986 when both himself and the sector minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh were students of the school.
Dr. Adutwum who made this revelation on ‘Point of View’ on Citi TV noted that even though the shutdown was as a result of a protest students organized, they didn’t destroy any school or individual property in the process.
“Not a single louvre was broken…our aluta was when we walk into Kejetia and by the time the people of Kumasi know early morning we are all in the centre of Kejetia and we are singing and dancing. We go straight to the regional minister’s residence and petition him and come back,” he recalled.
He added that the school was shut down by the police when students blocked the roads on campus after presenting the petition.
“The trouble we got into was when we got back to tech and we blocked the road distributing fliers and then the police came, drove us out, shut down the school in the afternoon and off we went home.”
Dr. Adutwum said they impeached one of their student leaders when he went to apologise on their behalf after the ‘aluta’.
KNUST impasse
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was shut down on Tuesday, October 23 after a violent protest on Monday, 22nd October 2018.
Several vehicles belonging to staff of the school as well as some offices were vandalised by the students who were protesting continues assault from security personnel in the school.
Following meetings between the government, authorities of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and other stakeholders, the Governing Council of the university was dissolved on Thursday, 25th October.
A seven-member Interim Council was put in place to oversee the affairs of the school.
The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) who were not pleased with the dissolution of the council threatened to withdraw its services if government did not rescind its decision.
Otumfuo to reconstitute KNUST governing council
Government has requested of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, to reconstitute the governing council by Friday.
After a marathon meeting on Monday, government also revealed that the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) have decided to call off their strike and restore services.
Meanwhile, the university is expected to re-open on November 8, for academic work to resume.
The latest decision by government came after massive pressure by UTAG, TEWU, OccupyGhana and several bodies called on government to reinstate the previous governing council.
The governing council was dissolved after riots by students led to the destruction of school properties including over 30 vehicles.
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