Pay us our bursaries or face our wrath – COCGSUG to Scholarship Secretariat

Members of the Coalition of Concerned Graduate Students of University of Ghana (COCGSUG) have issued out a warning to the Scholarship Secretariat of Ghana to release the 2016/2017 bursaries and thesis grant or face their wrath.

According to COCGSUG, they have “keenly monitored” the true prevailing affairs regarding the 2016/2017 bursaries and are unhappy about false information that have been made available to the media and general public by the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat.

“We therefore consider as highly unacceptable and exceedingly worrying, that with less than two (2) months for Graduate Students to submit our final thesis, the Scholarship Secretariat has since December 2017 till date, failed to honour its’ commitment to release our 2016/2017 research bursaries, despite the fulfilment of all requirements and procedures on the part of Graduate Students,” the coalition wrote in the statement.

The agitated students’ body has thus given the government an ultimatum of seven days to ensure the release of their thesis grants to facilitate their research studies which according to them, will “actually go a long way to help inform solutions to developmental problems in our country.”

Below is the full statement by COCGSUG:

RELEASE OUR BURSARIES AND THESIS GRANT NOW; OR FACE OUR WRATH!!!

COALITION OF CONCERNED GRADUATE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF GHANA (COCGSUG)

The Coalition Of Concerned Graduate Students of University of Ghana (COCGSUG) have keenly monitored the developments pertaining to the release of the 2016/2017 research bursaries by the Scholarship Secretariat of Ghana.

We therefore consider as highly unacceptable and exceedingly worrying, that with less than two (2) months for Graduate Students to submit our final thesis, the Scholarship Secretariat has since December 2017 till date, failed to honor its’ commitment to release our 2016/2017 research bursaries, despite the fulfilment of all requirements and procedures on the part of Graduate Students.

While the above is the true prevailing state of affairs regarding the 2016/2017 bursaries, the registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat in a rather very unfortunate twist of events, peddled falsehood to the media and general public, when he boasted of having paid the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG) their bursaries, during a courtesy call paid him on February 5th 2018, by executives of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).

To add salt to injury, both the local and national leadership of GRASAG have failed the graduate students of Ghana abysmally, relative to championing of students’ interest and ensuring the academic welfare of graduate students, as they have remained silent on the issue for reasons best known to them.

INDEED WHAT BAFFLES OUR MINDS AND STILL FIND EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND, IS HOW INCOMPETENCE WAS ABLE TO ENSURE THE RELEASE OF THE 2015/2016 BURSARIES AS AT DECEMBER 2016; YET COMPETENCE AS AT APRIL 2018 HAS STILL NOT BEING ABLE TO ENSURE THE RELEASE OF OUR 2016/2017 BURSARIES AND THESIS GRANTS; AND STILL BOTH OUR LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEADERS ARE MUTE.

THIS WE CONSIDER OUTRAGEOUS AND SUCH A TRAVERSTY OF JUSTICE, WHICH CANNOT AND MUST NOT BE COUNTENANCED, PARTICULARLY WHEN THIS “COMPETENT GOVERNMENT” PROMISED IN POINT 4 OF ITS 2016 MANIFESTO EDUCATION AGENDA TO “PLACE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION IN GHANA”.

COCGSUG is therefore by this release calling on “THE COMPETENT GOVERNMENT” to within SEVEN (7) DAYS from the release of this statement, ensure the release of our thesis grants to facilitate our research studies which actually go a long way to help inform solutions to developmental problems in our country, or face the wrath of the STUDENT FRATENITY.

We sincerely do not want to believe rumors making the rounds that the delays constitute attempts by government to subtly cancel the research grant towards fulfilling a bigger agenda of deliberately crippling post-graduate education in Ghana in an effort to erode the gains made in making post-graduate education relevant to the development of our nation.

We also call on GRASAG-LEGON to immediately suspend all preparations towards the upcoming 25th anniversary week celebration UNTIL OUR BURSARIES ARE PAID, AS ANY SUCH CELEBRATION WILL BE ABSOLUTELY MISPLACED AND MEANINGLESS, IF BURSARIES THAT ARE TO FACILITATE RESEARCH HAVE NOT BEING RELEASED.

COCGSUG describes the GRASAG-LEGON 25th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AS MEANINGLESS and a MISPLACED PRIORITY WITHOUT THE RELEASE OF OUR BURSARIES FOR RESEARCH, - PARTICULARLY WHEN THE THEME FOR THE WEEK CELEBRATION CALLS FOR "PROMOTING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION; A PATH TO MOVING GHANA BEYOND AID"

We call on all the good people of GRASAG-LEGON to join and support this campaign as we mobilize to demonstrate and push home further our concerns should government remain adamant to our call, in addition to the collation of signatures of graduate students for the submission of a petition to the dean of Students demanding the suspension of any week celebration, talk less of one under such a theme, until the release of our bursaries; - so we give meaning to the theme for our celebration.

LONG LIVE THE STUDENTS’ INTEREST

STILL PROCEEDING IN INTEGRITY (“INTEGRI PROCEDAMUS”)

*Signed:*

Dziedzom Gagblezu-Alomatu

(Convener)

0206583167

Eric Sepenu Afli

(1st Deputy Convener)

0546365284

Benard Fiador

(2nd Deputy Convener)

0268563599

Nana Egyir Andzie-Quainoo

(Secretary)

0542775746

Pamela Amoah

(Deputy Secretary)

0267099659

Samson Lambon

(Communications Director)

0243208215

Matthew Awuku

(Deputy Communications Director)

0545049612

CC:

OFFICE OF RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT (ORID)

THE DEAN OF STUDENTS (UG)

ALL MEDIA HOUSES