Use Dialogue to Address Grievances - VC Advises Students

By Bernard Benghan

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, has advised students to use proper channel to address grievances, rather than resorting to rampaging and wrecking.

He admonished them to use all forms of internal mechanisms for redress as the option, and avoid demonstration that would result in the vandalising of university's properties

"Immediately I get the hint or intelligence report that students are going on demonstration, the university will be closed down before the demonstration starts.

"I do not want what happened at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to happen here at the University of Ghana," Prof. Owusu cautioned.

The Vice Chancellor said this yesterday at the 4th International Research Conference organised by the University's College of Humanity on the theme, "Prospects and challenges of humanity in the 21st century."

Professor Owusu said what happened at KNUST was a great lesson for students and faculty members, therefore, innovative ways of engaging each other should be used in the future.

"As a university we cannot work in a chaotic atmosphere; going to KNUST yesterday was a great lesson for me, after having discussion with Otumfuo and moving on to the KNUST campus. To be honest we were shocked at the extent of damage we saw.

"If you are a lecturer in the classroom or in the laboratory or in the field doing research, at least, courtesy demand that you must show respect to the students," he said.

Professor Owusu said the university is currently investigating a case where a lecturer prohibited a female student from writing her semester examination, even after asking the students to stand throughout the lecture.

He said the university had taken the matter very seriously to avoid any future escalation, and urged the Students Representative Council (SRC) to engage the university managements when they have any issue.

"Students had wanted to demonstrate over shuttle buses, but when it came to my attention it took less than 10 minutes to address the issue due to a consensus between the SRC and the University management," he said.

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