The Appointment Of The Next C-Poly Rector

PRESS CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY THE CONCERNED STAFF OF CAPE COAST POLYTECHNIC ON THE 31ST OF AUGUST, 2011 AT CAPE COAST POLYTECHNIC, CAPE COAST AT 9:00 AM.

The Inconsistencies And Manipulations In The Appointment Of The Next C-Poly Rector

We the Concerned Staff of Cape Coast Polytechnic wish to draw the attention of the President and all Ghanaians to the strange developments in the process of appointing a suitably qualified person for the position of Rector of the Cape Coast Polytechnic.

Some actions taken by the Search Committee and certain persons have cast doubts about the genuineness of the entire appointment process.

We are disturbed by the following inconsistencies and manipulations:

1. QUALIFICATION/ EXPERIENCE OF A RECTOR

Though the original vacancy advertisement placed in the two national dailies on 24th February, 2011 indicated that among other requirements, the applicant must have attained Ten (10) Years Post Doctoral Working Experience in a tertiary or an analogous institution, the content was subsequently watered down to Ten (10) Years Managerial Working Experience in the Monday, May 9th 2011 edition of the Graphic and Times.

2. Certain shadowy groups and persons have resorted to writing threatening letters to the Search Committee to recommend one Dr. Lawrence Atepor who does not qualify for the position as per the first advertisements.

3. THE ROLE OF THE NCTE

The Chairman of the Polytechnic Council, Dr. Ato Cobbina, unilaterally arranged with the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) to receive applications before submitting them to the Search Committee secretariat at the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS). The arrangement is intriguing because the role of NCTE in this matter is hard to understand.

3.1 THE EXIT OF THE FORMER RECTOR

Our fears are even heightened the more because in the events which culminated in the forced resignation of the then Rector Prof. R.K. Nkum in August 2010, Mr. Paul Dzandu, the Deputy Executive Secretary of NCTE wrote several unauthorised letters to Prof. Nkum in an attempt to force the Rector to resign a full year ahead of his 4-year contract period.

3.2 UNLAWFUL APPOINTMENT OF A.M. KOOMSON

Much as we have confidence in the NCTE as an august public institution, we cannot be quiet given the role Mr. Paul Dzandu played in the unlawful appointment of Mr. A.M. Koomson to act as the Acting Rector of Cape Coast Polytechnic instead of the substantive Vice Rector Mr. K.A. Simpson from October 2010 to May 2011. This unlawful action seriously polarised the Polytechnic. It took a Cape Coast High Court to annul the illegal act of the Council

4. ABUSE OF OFFICE – COUNCIL CHAIRMAN

The manner in which Dr Ato Cobbina, the Chairman of the Council, abused his office to get Ing.Safo-Debrah and Mrs. Barton-Odro into the Polytechnic Council clearly reveals that the two persons owe their continued stay on the Council to him and cannot be said to be impartial in the process of appointing a more suitably qualified person. These two members on the Search Committee are rooting for Dr. Atepor when they very well know that the latter does not qualify to be shortlisted even.

5. Recent developments in the Polytechnic show that the Chairman of the Council is sacrificing merit for political expediency in the choice of a Rector for the Polytechnic.

6. In the light of these inconsistencies and abuse of office by Dr. Cobbina, the Chairman of the Polytechnic Council, we are convinced that all these manipulations are intended to foist Dr. Atepor on the Polytechnic only to satisfy the bruised ego of Dr. Cobbina.

7. RETROGRESSION OF THE POLYTECHNIC

Two years after taking office as a Council Chairman, Dr. Cobbina has always done things that result in CHAOS and ANIMOSITY in the Polytechnic. Dr. Cobbina’s only stock-in-trade is removing positive-thinking people from office to replace them with spineless people who would thoughtlessly do his bidding, a case of the piper playing the tunes of the payer.

8. NEED FOR PEACE

We pray for peace on the Polytechnic campus to enable the Polytechnic play its role in the development of the nation. However, peace is likely to elude the Polytechnic if the selection process is grossly abused by the Chairman of the Council, the Search Committee and the powers that be.

9. POINTS TO NOTE ON C-POLY POTAG AND OTHER ISSUES:

• That C-POLY POTAG wants a Rector from within is not true. C-POLY POTAG had never met as an association to deliberate on any issue since June 2011.

• C-POLY POTAG as an association does not write letters on issues without a general meeting as has been the case with all other association

• C-POLY POTAG letters to the Presidency and the Search Party only reflects the parochial view of the Executives and not the general decision of members.

• The SEARCH Party based on C-POLY POTAG letters to the Presidency had shortlisted Dr. Lawrence K. Atepor who does not qualify in terms of the 10-year managerial experience, is a recipe for legal battle.

• Where were the C-POLY POTAG executives when the Council Chairman was perpetuating illegalities by appointing 61-year A.M. Koomson?

• Indeed Dr. Atepor joined the Polytechnic in 1997, and was granted study leave with pay for his PhD in 2005 and returned to the Polytechnic in 2009, it will thus be bad for one to think he has enough experience just by virtue of obtaining a PhD.

• He was promoted to the Senior Lecturership position in 2010 by the Polytechnic Council under the chairmanship of Dr. Francis Ato Cobbina, under bizarre circumstances by the illegitimate Ag. Rector (Mr. Augustus Marx Koomson) and unqualified Deans who all sat on his application in clear contradiction to Article 14.4b of the Polytechnic Statutes which states ‘No person shall participate in the appointment to a post higher than that of his own substantive rank’.

• With the dissolution of the illegal Search Party and the formation of a legitimate one, it stands to reason that all work done illegally becomes void. To maintain the shortlisted applicants from the illegal Search Party therefore makes every proud Ghanaian wonder the reason behind perpetuating such an illegality.

• That the position is not about the requirements in the advertisement but about who can do the job by the measure of the illegal Search Party is sad and an act of absurdity since all Ghanaians have abilities hence the qualifications stated in the advertisement to help get the best from among the lot of Ghanaians.

• That people are not applying, one should ask how people would apply when the Governing Council of the Polytechnic under the Chairmanship of Dr. Francis Ato Cobbina does not even know the basics in Educational Administration.

• Dr. Atepor supported the illegitimate Ag. Rector Mr. A. M. Koomson by going to the Cape Coast High Court(2) with him even when the Polytechnic Act and the Statutes made it clear that his position was in violation to the Statutes. How can Dr. Atepor then work with these documents when he does not have faith in them? He cannot be a UNIFIER but rather bring disgrace to the Institution which was ones the envy of all sister Polytechnics.

Let all Ghanaian with discerning minds ponder on these and be the better judges of the calculated ACTS of the Cape Coast Polytechnic Council under the Chairmanship of Dr. Francis Ato Cobbina in dipping the values of education in the mud.

We also pray that the proper process must be followed to appoint a qualified Rector who would be a unifying factor on the Polytechnic.

We are praying the President of our dear nation to please help save Cape Coast Polytechnic from the present decay and the lack of direction.

LONG LIVE GHANA, LONG LIVE POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION, LONG LIVE C-POLY! Thank you

Emmanuel Offei Appiah

(Lecturer-Spokesperson)

Tel: 0243686676

Tsatsu MacCarthy

(Deputy Spokesperson)

Tel: 0244759266