NDC’s position on university bill is popular with UTAG – Kwesi Jonah

The opposition National Democratic Congress’ (NDC’s) position on the university bill is popular with the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).

According to Kwesi Jonah, a senior fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), besides the free SHS policy, the NDC seems to have a better policy for the education sector than the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP)

“The public university bill which the NDC has promised to kill, the NDC’s position is something that is very popular with the University Teachers Association of Ghana. In fact on the 16th of September, coming Wednesday, UTAG has invited my organization to join them in a press conference against this bill,” he told an Accra-based radio station monitored by MyNewsGh.com.

He explained that “their [UTAG] main issue in this bill is that if it is allowed to go in this current form then it will take the traditional academic autonomy that the university has been enjoying ever since universities were set up in this country.”

“For example, there is a particular point that states that the Minister of Education shall give directives and universities shall comply. At no point in time from the period of Kwame Nkrumah that the universities have been subjected to this kind of control by the Minister of Education”, he added.

The universities have always been administered by the council, and Dr. Jonah said “there is the question of the University Council and the council is the body that handles the policy of the university. Lecturers are complaining and there is a potential they will support the NDC.”