UCC to smoke out applicants with fake results

The authorities of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) have vowed to weed out all applicants who through dubious means gain admission into the institution.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Domwini Kuupole, who sounded the warning on Saturday, said two people who used fake results to gain admission into the University had been disqualified.

One of the applicant was arrested when attempted to register, and was assisting the police with investigations leading to the arrest of the main brain behind the scandal, while the other failed to register and is being looked for by the police.

Prof. Kuupole was speaking at the matriculation ceremony of fresh students for the 2015/16 academic year of which 5,234 students out of the 10,900 qualified applicants gained admission to pursue courses such as education, law, medical sciences, social sciences, business, agriculture and nursing.

Out of the figure 117 are pursuing PhD, 402 are Masters Students, whilst 4,715 were Undergraduates.

“We wish to take this opportunity to inform all would-be applicants that the university obtains results of the SSCE with pictures of applicants annually from the West African Examination Council to cross-check with the applications received,” Prof. Kuupole cautioned.

He therefore warned people who colluded with others to gain admission into the University to stop the practice because “they will definitely be found out and punished accordingly”.

Prof. Kuupole reminded the students that their programme of study were to enable them to advance knowledge, conduct creative research and scholarship, and apply that knowledge to address social problems.

“As a student of this University you are required to render service to society,” he declared and tasked them to endeavor to be truthful, committed, dedicated and above all disciplined, to enable them to achieve their goal.

The Vice Chancellor said the University had set up a fund dubbed Students’ Emergency Relief Fund (SERF) to support students who were genuinely disadvantaged and could not cope with their stay on campus.

This year a total of 138 continuing students benefited from the fund, Prof. Kuupole said and urged new students who may require some help in respect of the payment of fees to contact the Dean of Students Affairs for consideration.

Consequently, the UCC had made an appeal to Non-Governmental Organisations and philanthropists to contribute to the fund to help sustain it.