KNUST authority unhappy with blame game

Kumasi, April 27, GNA - Authorities at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), have expressed disgust at what it sees as=

attempts to blame the University for the tragic accident that claimed the=

life of a female student and left another badly injured last Saturday. They have, therefore, appealed to the public to stop pointing accusing fingers and instead come together and help prevent any such disaster from=

striking in the future. As a people, they said, all need to learn lessons from what happene= d.

In a statement signed by Mr Solomon Panford, the acting Deputy Registrar= , and issued in Kumasi on Tuesday, the KNUST said the unfortunate incident was purely accidental and could not be attributable to any human error. It denied that the structure had no supervision or an estimation of a lifespan and maintenance plan, and pointed out that, the Independence Hal= l, which is the oldest at KNUST, was constructed in 1957 with an ideal lifes= pan of 50 years.

"The lifespan of the structure had been prolonged because of ongoing periodic maintenance works it had seen over the years," it said. The statement said the authorities were cooperating with the family of t= he deceased in respect of the funeral saying, the University had assumed substantial responsibility in the planning and execution of her burial an= d the funeral. The statement said in a bid to immortalize the deceased student, the University was planning to preserve her memory by honouring her appropriately. Eva Alordina, a Level 100 Business Administration student, was kill= ed when a concrete canopy walkway collapsed on her, last Saturday. Another student, Gertrude Kyere Davies, who together with the decea= sed was trapped by the falling slab, is on admission at Komfo Anokye Teaching=

Hospital with serious injuries. She is reported to be responding to treatment. 27 April 10