Lecturers to strike over dissolution of KNUST Governing Council

Lecturers at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have threatened to embark on a strike action in the coming days if government refuses to reinstate the dissolved Governing Council of the University.

The Lecturers have also rejected the seven-member interim committee set up to determine the fate of the embattled Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof. Kwasi Obiri Danso and reopen the university within 14 days.

They are expected to hold a crunch meeting today [Friday] to determine their next line of action.

Government took the action following the recent students riot and the destruction of properties including over 30 vehicles at the KNUST which has led to the school’s closure.

The Interim Council, chaired by Nana Effah Apenteng, Paramount Chief of the Bompata Traditional Area, has a three-month tenure.

This follows briefs and recommendations made by the Minister for Education, Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh after he led a high powered delegation, including the Minister for National Security, Hon. Albert Kan Dapaah and the Minister-Designate for Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah to Kumasi.

It will be recalled that on Monday 22nd October 2018, there were disturbances on KNUST campus in Kumasi during which property was vandalized. The university was subsequently shut down indefinitely upon the advice of the Regional Security Council.

The view of the university management, as the delegation observed, was that increasingly, there had been acts of wayward behaviour, hooliganism and incidents of violence on campus, hence the need to take steps to protect life.

Government is also mindful of an adverse international image the country would suffer if the university remained closed for a protracted period, especially given the substantial number of foreign students at KNUST. However, government has been advised by the Ashanti Regional Security Council that without a resolution of the relevant matters, it would not be safe to reopen the university.

The Ministry took the view that the Governing Council was not in a position to review its own processes and decisions affecting the student body to guarantee peace. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education recommended to government the suspension of the university’s Governing Council and the establishment of an Interim Council.