The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has threatened to stage a massive demonstration, if the authorities of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) do not rescind their decision to punish nine students of the university within two weeks.
The university has withheld the examination results of eight students for three academic years for their involvement in a demonstration last March during the 31st annual congregation of the university whilst another student has been rusticated for two academic years, for the same reason.
The NUGS, at a news conference in Accra yesterday, also called on the Education Minister, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, to resign because it does not have confidence in him.
The press conference, which brought together students from the various universities, was to register their solidarity with the affected students and to make public the effect of the grading system on the university students.
The students wore red bands, chanted songs, and held placards with writings like, “Resign, Education Minister”, “What did we do wrong?” and “ UCC, a mockery of democracy”.
Mr Razak Awudulai, National Secretary of NUGS who addressed the conference, said after the demonstration, students were made to understand that a committee which was set up to investigate its cause, will come out with recommendations on the grading system, which was the cause of the demonstration.
He said the decision of the board to rusticate and withhold the results of the students therefore, came as a shock to the NUGS.
“The union deems the decision of the Academic Board as unfortunate, discriminatory and cowardly as well as an abuse of human rights, which has the tendency to breach democratic principles and the peaceful atmosphere in the university and the country as a whole”, he said.
Mr Awudulai described the decision of the authorities as deceitful, and said it is regrettable that at a time when the country needs a strong human resource base to revamp the ailing economy, an institution like the University of Cape Coast should thwart such an effort.
He said instead of the authorities addressing the substantive issue which is the grading system, they rather went out to look for students to use them as scape goats.
university authorities have never come out with measures to address the problem of the 80 per cent grading system, when students have shown their displeasure since its introduction in 1996, makes the demonstration justifiable; hence it does not deserve to attract any punishment”, he contended.
Mr Awudulai said the union does not agree with the logic put forward about the autonomy of universities contending that they cannot take a decision contrary to the interest of the nation.
“The union is therefore calling on the President, Mr J. A. Kufuor, to intervene and resolve the matter in order to prevent a possible unrest nationwide”, he said.
Mr Aboagye Tandoh, SRC President of UCC, called for the issue of the grading system to be tackled seriously and cautioned that if it is not, excellent students will become average, whilst average students will suffer.
In their petition to the Education Minister at the UCC Congregation on March 31, the students said the grading system has put the award of a first class degree beyond the reach of many otherwise excellent students and rendered many average students failures.
According to the students, a score of 64 percent in all subjects at UCC gives a student a third class, while the same score at the University of Ghana, Legon, gives a student a second class (Upper Division).
They said a UCC student who scores 54 per cent in all courses goes home without a certificate, while a Legon student with the same score will get a second class (lower division).
The students contended that such disparities put students of UCC at a great disadvantage on the job market, since employers look at the classes obtained and not the marks scored.
In another development, the Students Representative Council of the University of Ghana, have condemned the
