'One professor cannot change the hall's status' – Old Vandals reject ejection

An old student and resident of the University of Ghana's Commonwealth Hall, Bernard Oduro Takyi, has given a stern warning to the vice-chancellor of the university.

His warning comes following the decision of the university’s management to remove all continuing male students from both the Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah Halls.

The decision, it is believed was taken as a result of the many bloody clashes between male students of the two aforementioned resident halls.

However, Oduro Takyi, an old vandal- as past residents of the university’s Commonwealth Hall are called- asserts that it is unconstitutional for management to terminate the residence status of all male students enrolled in Mensah Sarbah Hall and Commonwealth Hall.

“In 2023 they want to sack every student here and bring in only freshmen, and we’re saying no. This hall that you see, a whole queen Elizabeth came from the UK to greet our chief vandal in 1957 and you think we will sit down for one vice chancellor with professorship to change that hall, she is joking,” he angrily said.

The former JCR president of the Commonwealth Hall in an interview with GhanaWeb argued that the University has systems in place to address housing difficulties and that the management violated the appropriate legislation and took unconstitutional measures.

“If she wants to change anything in the University it must come from the senior common room and junior common room and not the vice-chancellor… they have waged a war against vandalism,” he said.

The Management of the University of Ghana last December revoked the accommodation of all continuing male students of the Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah Halls after another round of clashes involving the two feuding halls.

According to a statement signed by the Registrar of the University on December 14, 2022, the residents are to be randomly assigned to available rooms in any of the University of Ghana Enterprise Limited Hostel (UGEl) and private hostels.

The statement further mentioned that continuing female students of Mensah Sarbah Hall and students with special needs in both halls will not be affected.





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