PUSAG withdraws from gov’t ‘campus connect series’

The Private University Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG), has withdrawn from the campus connect series, a programme initiated by government to enable state officials to interact with students in tertiary institutions on pertinent issues.

The National Executive Committee of PUSAG claimed the programme was a misplaced priority and accused the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa of failing to address challenges facing private tertiary education.

Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Mohammed Sukparu Adam, President of PUSAG said: “PUSAG wishes to officially inform its numerous constituents, students of Ghana, stakeholders in the education industry as well as the ...public that it is disassociating itself from the ‘Campus Connect Series’.”

“The association is accordingly appealing to President John Dramani Mahama to immediately reassign the Deputy Minister or remove him from office for gross incompetence, nonchalance and lack of interest in the affairs of private universities.”

Mr Adam warned that failure of the government to heed to their call would be inimical to the electoral fortunes of the National Democratic Congress government in the 2016 general election.

He observed that it was a misplaced priority and waste of time and energy for the Ministry of Education to have pumped huge sums of money to embark on what they termed “fruitless venture at the expense of the taxpayer”.

He said government could have been preoccupied with reversing numerous problems facing the nation’s education sector rather than investing in a programme, PUSAG see as “a clandestine move to woo students into coming to terms with government propaganda message ahead of election 2016”.

The student governing body expressed worry that government has consistently failed to heed to the plea of allowing private universities to benefit from Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) projects as was done by previous government.

“We really do not know what has changed that this government thinks that the private university student is no longer deserving of any kind of support from GETfund,” he said.

Mr Adam also noted government’s decision to slap 25 per cent corporate tax on private universities was very unpopular because of its rippling effects on students.

He expressed wonder why government has reneged on granting charter to private universities when records showed that some of the universities have existed for more than 10 years as required and have met all other criteria.

“Only one out of the 68 private universities operating in the country has been given a charter, which is Valley View University; which is now doing very well because of that,” he said.

Mr Adam said the challenges confronting private tertiary education are many, which ought to be the concern of government and not ministers of states to move round to campuses and be interacting with students.