IS IT A CURSE TO BE A STUDENT OF KNUST?

ARCHIMEDES WRITES

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has its mission statement which depicts that, the University provide environment for teaching, research and entrepreneurship training in science and technology for the industrial and socio-economic development of Ghana, Africa and other nations. The mission statement of an organization is a short statement that depicts organizational purpose, identifying the goal of its operations: what kind of products or services it provides. Providing an environment for learning when students’ voice is considered as a last priority is awkward and should be condemned at the highest level.

"Biribi ankoka papa a, anka papa annye kyerede" which laterally means, "if something had not touched the papa (dried palm frond), it wouldn't have made a sound”. We are in a dispensation where university authorities do not recognize dialogue (round table discussion) with the student leaders to curb issues which were popping up.

A university where hall executives (UNITY AND UNIVERSITY HALL JCR) will be punished just because they chose legal means to approach the issue of male halls conversion when the school authorities turned deaf ears to the grievances of student leaders in these two halls. The JCR have been denied access to their hall (jurisdiction) and have gone on to appoint first years who have not even spent two months in these halls, leaving the leaders of these halls who have been constitutionally elected fugitives of their own land and exiled.

We are in a school where about 70% of its population leave off campus with highly deficient security. A school where its academic year hostel price costs about Ghc 3000.00, which can pay for regular school fees for about three years, yet off campus life is horrible. Roads leading to our hostels get flooded anytime it rains. I was nearly carried away by the flood around the bridge behind the 'JERICHO WALL' adjacent Nana Adoma Hostel. This issue is visibly evidential to the sight of most students who use or visit that road to their various hostels. 

Find images of the state of off campus hostel when it rains;

                                         Images by Amo-Agyei Gideon (ARCHIMEDES): The Author

A school where a road (on campus) can be reconstructed for about four times a semester in the name of maintenance which may move with huge budgets. A university where securities have power over students excessively. What gives me headache and anger is that, a school which has unrecognized cells, built about 10 years down the lane, the securities arrest students in that cells overnight. 

A school where security administer instant justice to students with or without provocation, yet administration ushers no condemnation to the security men when SRC approaches them. A school where student leaders are asked to celebrate (all six traditional halls weeks’ celebrations squeezed) their hall week within a week. Leaders lamented on this, but they turned deaf ears to them. 

A school where students are afraid to go in for remarking. A school which claims they transport students ‘freely’, but majority of the student body do not benefit just because they are not residing on campus. 

Students have been complaining continuously for shuttles to come off campus to convey them since they have paid for it, but they have turned deaf ears to them. 

A school which has its lastly built hall that had its 50th anniversary celebrated this academic year, yet the leaders have not thought of building a new HALL to solve this accommodation crisis on the land of KNUST. Yet, we have acres of land which is idle. Hmmm, only God knows what is preventing them.  

  A school (university) that can issue a letter claiming to suspend any student who will be found in a lady’s room after 10pm and a member of hall ‘A’ cannot enter hall ‘B’ at the said time, owing denial to an Access Control. The dangerous part of it is that, a hall like UNITY HALL, having one entrance, allowing about 2000 students to pass through. If accident like fire outbreaks pop up, what becomes the fate of students?

All these issues have escalated the anger of students to the extent that they could not bear it anymore. All avenues failed. All avenues of dialogue and such like failed and the issues were accumulated. The student leaders met with the administration, but as I said the authorities turned deaf ears to our leaders. Some of them chose legal means, but the leaders (UNITY AND UNIVERSITY HALL JCR) were punished. So, what they needed was obviously demonstration; the last and only available resort.

The SRC did that by releasing a message telling students to boycott lectures since a student, an innocent student for that matter, was beaten by the security and nothing was done to remedy the situation. What got me angry like a roaring lion was that, the boy was caught unarmed, and beaten in a criminalized manner. So, do you have to administer beating to an unarmed student to the point where he is weak before you can send him to ‘the unrecognized cells’, which I am against totally? The SRC sent the release on Sunday on the 'Peaceful Demonstration’, as it was purported to be. The entire student populace was to boycott class, since the authorities do not recognize dialogue and legal way of solving issues.

That very same day, the university gave a response by a message from the vice chancellor through the Dean of Students (DOS) reading, "The attention of the VC has been drawn to a boycott of lectures by students on Monday 22nd, October 2018. You are reminded that, attendance at lectures is compulsory and the decision to attend lectures or not remains an individual affair. Lecturers will be at lectures as usual and you are entreated to disregard any contrary information."  This message manifested to me that, the authorities do not respect the views of students. As it was rightly said by William Lyon Mackenzie King, "where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government which sooner or later becomes autocratic government".

I call this autocratic leadership in the sense that, the authorities were not willing to hear the cry of students, students will use legal means and then you punish them. It does not end there, student leaders will call 'Peaceful Demonstration' and you will send a message debunking the decision by the student leaders. You give the SRC no chance to get their issues resolved. Most students went to class that day because they were afraid and was a complete threat from the side of the administration. The message means to the best of my knowledge that, students who will not attend lectures may be sanctioned or dismissed. I was totally aggrieved and bereaved when I saw the message. No letter, message or whatsoever came from the administration condemning the act of the security men, but when the University Relation Officer said after the incident was that, students who were arrested on the 11th of October 2018 should be sanctioned. The administration did not check up on the state of the student who was hospitalized from the unprofessionally immature act of their pampered 'Adarkwa Police'

See Image of KNUST Security beating Student;

                                         Image by Successafrica.info

During the peaceful demonstration, as it was purported to be by the SRC, the Police met students, fired gun shots in the air and that escalated the alleged vandalism since the students saw it as a form of intimidation. People were condemning the act of students to the point that they claimed students who did the act should be punished. With the best of my knowledge, if this demonstration had not been carried out, our voices would not have been heard. Students were tired of this whole autocratic leadership and I am saying it emphatically that, until Prof. Obiri Danso goes, students will not be happy and not rest as well. 

I am sorry to say that, I am disappointed in the University Teachers Association of Ghana, KNUST branch with their stand on what has happened from day one. My question here is simple, where were the UTAG when their own students were beaten like armed robbers who have stolen from a super market and mob attacked? Here come the UTAG-KNUST executives releasing a letter lamenting on the fact that, they are not happy about the dissolution of the old university council. They said on Monday that, they saw demonstration by students that led to destruction of properties and none of the students has been sanctioned over the actions, but not a letter or a message or whatsoever to condemn the act of the unprofessional securities. I call this hypocrisy on the side of the UTAG-KNUST branch.

I will conclude by thanking the SRC President, Mr. Kelvin Sah, his executives and the SRC Parliamentary Council for taking this bold decision. Mr. Kelvin Sah, have this in your mind that, students would not forgive you if you betray them. Don’t lose your integrity since students have you at heart and ready to support you for this bold decision taken. I saw a press release or whatsoever by the SRC pleading the government to bring back the dissolved council without any consultation with the students, when it came, we the students thought it was one of the false messages that has been circulating around until the SRC made it clear to students how true the above message that was sent. As I have indicated earlier where were UTAG and TEWU when students were being brutalized by those ‘Adarkwah Police’. Until the following issues are done the students will not rest and the SRC should bare this in mind;

• The Vice Chancellor should not be the Vice Chancellor of this noble institution no more since we need to cut through the red tape and bring leadership who are willing to hear students’ grievances and take them as their utmost priority.
• The SRC should lobby in for the Interim council to return Unity Hall, University Hall and Africa Hall to their normal state for sanity to be restored, since it is for this reason this brutality-demonstration triggered.
• The SRC should also lobby for the building of a hall (s), expedited. I say emphatically, a hall not a hostel, for the betterment of the students since the existing halls cannot accommodate first year students not to talk of continuing students for that matter, causing about more than 70% of students to leave off campus (with less security).
• Students should get a public forum to pour out their grievances despite the fact that we have SRC but it seems they want to fail us.
• Last but not the least, prices of hostels are outrageous and should be reduced to allow those who are less privileged like myself to have access to hostels with less costs and better services from the hostels’ management as well.

Richard Amoh, senior, I greet you. I appreciate your thriving struggling hustle to impact lives with advocacy. I credit your support of my writing pieces.

                                          Amo-Agyei Gideon (ARCHIMEDES): The Author

Gideon Amo-Agyei is my name. A Second year student of KNUST, reading BSc. Agribusiness Management and a proud farmer. I believe that, strong activism is the only tool that can change our sick status quo! Call me through this contact 0550845554 for any clarification and corrections if deemed necessary.