Poly Students Demonstrate Against “Education Racism” By NDC Gov’t

Polytechnic students in the country have embarked on a nationwide demonstration against what they describe as ‘education racism’ on the part of the government. The protest march is in solidarity with the salary arrears concerns raised by the members of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG).

Earlier on the Citi Break Fast Show, the Public Relations officer of the Ghana National of Polytechnic Students Association (GNUPS), Baba Alhassan, said they will be heading towards the castle to petition the President to resolve the concerns that has led to the strike of their lecturers. According to him, Polytechnic education has not received the needed attention for some time now.

“For the past year, Polytechnic education has not received the needed attention everywhere in the country and look at what has happened with regards to POTAG strike and UTAG. That is not to say we don’t have concerns or we don’t care about what happens within the other fraternities…but we believe we should be given equal attention as others have been given” he added.

He said it is disappointing that government is not attaching any urgency and importance to the concerns raised by the Polytechnic students as he did with the UTAG strike.

“Before the President met the vice chancellors, the Deputy Information Minister and the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary education went to the university campus to assure the students that government is working around the clock to bring their lecturers back to the classroom and we believe that as a father for all, the next step should have been Rectors of Polytechnics and not members of UTAG alone” he bemoaned.

Baba Alhassan said they will march from the Accra Polytechnic campus to the Castle to challenge the president to resolve the circumstances surrounding their lecturers strike if he is who he is perceive to be. He added that the distance between the Castle and Accra Polytechnic is much shorter as against the Castle and University of Ghana but they have been ignored.

“Looking at the distance between the Castle and Accra Poly as against Castle to University of Ghana, which one is shorter? But the president has chosen to go the other way when POTAG was also on strike,” he lamented.

Meanwhile, reports says about four thousand students have joined the demonstration in Accra which took off from the Accra Polytechnic Council towards the Independence Square where a petition is to be be presented to the President at the Castle.

The demonstration is taking place concurrently in all the ten polytechnics across the country.