The University Students Association of Ghana has weighed in on the calls for finality to the issue concerning the closure of the Ghana School of Survey and Mapping in Accra.
This comes on the back of government’s directive to shut down the School and have it’s staff reassigned at a press conference on Tuesday following recent clashes over land at the school.
Lamenting the current state of affairs to Radio Univers’ Campus Exclusive host Abdul Karim Ibrahim on Monday, President of USAG, Kwarteng Frimpong called on the Ministry of Lands of Natural resources be explicit in its stance on the issue while protecting the interests of the students of the school.
“We are unaware of that position from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. What we are aware of is that there was a press conference by the Minster in charge of Lands and natural resources who made it clear that the school must be closed down due to reason A or B. This also reemphasizes my point that indeed we are unable to hide from the truth that the land has been leased to a private developer because you should ask yourself, what was the land guards doing on the premises of that institution… Clearly, if we allow this to be the precedence of the day then in the next two or five years, any company can come from wherever and say they bought the land of the University of Ghana and they are converting it to for instance, a pig farm or whatever. So what we are saying as USAG is that the ministry should come clear so that the students can get back to school and continue their education”, he said.
Kwarteng Frimpong also expressed disappointment at the notion purporting that this agitation by the students is politically motivated.
He however called on the stakeholders to tackle the substance of the issue to ensure that a conducive learning atmosphere is created for the student of the Ghana School of Surveying and Mapping.
“What were the land guards doing there if indeed there was no issue of litigation on the land between the school and the private developer? If indeed the land has not been given out then what were the land guards doing there? Who were they protesting? What were they protesting for and who were they protesting for. And it will be very shocking for management of the school to take that position that students are being used by politicians. In the first place it is better for us tackle the substance of the issue. Have students be injected out or not? That is the questions we should be asking ourselves and indeed if students have been injected up, we have final year students preparing for their exams and all of a sudden you say they should go home that the school have been closed down just because an individual wants it for his own private property. No that can no happen”, he lamented.
Closure
Mr Amewu ordered the immediate indefinite closure of the GSSM in Accra last Tuesday after the students had been accused of destroying some items belonging to a private developer working for the Lands Commission.
He also directed the students to vacate the school premises and the hostel facilities with immediate effect. Lecturers of the school were also asked to suspend their activities while steps were taken to assign them other duties.
By: Kenneth Awotwe Darko/ radiouniversonline.com In der politischen realität steckt dieser ganzheitliche hier lesen ansatz noch in seinen anfängen