NUGS calls on President Akufo-Addo to intervene: President Akufo-Addo is being pressured by the leadership of several Students Representative Councils (SRCs) to interfere in the University Teachers Association of Ghana’s strike (UTAG).
They claim that his silence on the subject has been deafening.
Although public institutions reopened seven weeks ago, courses have yet to commence since academic activity has come to a halt due to the strike.
Julius Kwame Anthony, the General Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), feels that if the President engages teachers, they will return to their posts.
Mr. Anthony said on JoyNews‘ The Probe that while government institutions are using UTAG, none of them have gotten the intended results.
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“There is one person who has not commented on this issue and who we need to speak to, and that person is the President of the Republic.”
“So it will make a big impact because he’s the president, and when he talks, things move.” If he issues orders, all of these people will follow them, therefore he should come and declare his viewpoint,” he said.
The NUGS General Secretary, on the other hand, was against students considering demonstrating right now.
SRC Presidents, he believes, should urge the President for a meeting to find a peaceful solution to the problem.
“We did it last year, and it wasn’t long after that action was done.” So I believe it will be only after I meet with the President, and if nothing happens, that we will be able to demonstrate,” he hinted.
Meanwhile, UTAG’s Executives have urged members to stick to their decision to return to class on February 28, 2022.
However, a survey conducted by the UTAG’s National Executive Council revealed that public universities had overwhelmingly rejected the proposal to take up their tools.
The majority of lecturers at the country’s seven public institutions voted against UTAG’s National Executive Committee (NEC) decision to call off the statewide strike.
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW); the University of Ghana, Legon; the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR); the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); the University for Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA); and the SD-Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SD-Dombo) are among the dissenting lecturers.
According to the results of the polls taken at these seven public institutions, the vast majority of professors do not want UTAG to call off its statewide strike.
NEC’s decision has still to be voted on by the University of Cape Coast and other member institutions.
# NUGS calls on President Akufo