General News of Tuesday, 29 May 2001

Source: Chronicle

Legon Students Threaten to March On Castle

Students of the external degree centre of the University of Ghana have called on the university authorities to indefinitely suspend an intended policy of divorcing them from the university mainstream.

In a press conference organised by the SRC, the students called on the Vice Chancellor and his board to put the intended policy on hold since conditions prevailing at the centre make it practically impossible to fully ran a comprehensive four year degree programme at the centre. The University of Ghana has since over 30 years created a degree programme at the college which is also known as the "Workers' College" which leads to the awarding of the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Administration. Under this arrangement students do 2 years at the centre and the remaining 2 is done with the mainstream at the Legon Campus.

However, the authorities have decided to run the entire 4-year programme solely at the external centre. This has encountered the grave displeasure of the student body who have argued that prevailing conditions would seriously make that policy highly untenable. They complain of inadequate infrastructure, part-time lecturers,uncongenial academic environment among others. They hold that "we take cognisance of the fact that the policy has the potential of broadening the admission base. . .but the prevailing circumstances make it's implementation inappropriate". They are therefore calling for the suspension of the policy as this will give the university ample time to set out the needed structural modalities that will make the policy materialise without jeopardising the "precious future of students" as they will not allow themselves to be used as "guinea pigs" of a rash policy.