General News of Thursday, 10 October 2019

Source: starrfm.com.gh

‘Sex for grades’: UG foreign admission trip put on hold – VC

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu has revealed that the ‘sex for grades’ documentary by the BBC is affecting some operations of the university.

According to him, a scheduled enrollment exercise by the school in Nigeria has been put on hold as a result of the film which accused two lecturers of the university of sexual harassment.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Thursday, the VC said the BBC investigative job was in “bad taste”.

“The BBC documentary is in bad taste and have affected us all badly. There are some projects that are to take place but have been put on hold because of what has happened. Our foreign admission team was to go to Nigeria but they have asked us that we put it on hold due to the film. Other things have also been put on hold so it has affected the school,” he bemoaned.

The two accused lecturers have been suspended by the university pending investigations into the accusations.

Meanwhile, the VC himself has denied claims of sexual harassment leveled against him by the CEO of Africa Integras Andrea Pizziconi.

According to him, the “claims are untrue and can never be true”.

“The claims are not true and can never be true. If you know me so well you wouldn’t be asking me that question. It can’ be true. I met her because of the project and I never meet her alone. I have never had any personal engagement with her. All our meetings with this woman has been extremely business one”.

“I have been extremely careful not to have a one on one with her, I have always insisted we meet in teams and she rejected that but I told her my style is that we meet in teams. The last time I met her, she insisted we meet alone in my office but I went ahead to invite my Pro-VC and one other to the office and she was surprised to meet them in my office because she wanted to meet me alone. I always tried to avoid a one on one with her,” he told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Thursday.