University of Education, Winneba
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has been closed down following a high court order.
The decision by the authorities to close down the state-funded university was confirmed in a news release issued by the registry of the university yesterday.
With this interim injunction, all the university’s campuses at Winneba, Kumasi, Ajumako and Mampong-Ashanti are not supposed to operate until Friday, June 16, following the ruling by Justice Ato Graves-Mills of the Winneba High Court that some actions taken by the school’s council were illegal.
“In line with the decision of the court, the members of the University Community, comprising UTAG executives, Deans, Heads of Department, and representatives of Senior Members, therefore decided to shut down the University until Friday, 16th June, 2017, when the substantive case will be heard,” the registry said.
It said that “the decision has arisen as a result of implementing the judge’s directive that the Principal Officers of the University be restrained from working until Friday, 16th June, 2017, and also the fact that other management members, Principals, Deans and Deputy Registrars were appointed by the Council which authority is being challenged.”
The facts of the case are that a former assemblyman for Donkoryiem, Supi Kofi Kwayera, sued the university and joined the Ministry of Education for allegedly extending the university’s Governing Council’s tenure.
The plaintiff had accused the Governing Council of allegedly misappropriating the funds of the university after the expiration of two terms in 2013.
As a result, the plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the extension of the mandate of the Governing Council of the 1st respondent by the 2nd respondent to stay in office to perform such functions as a properly appointed council was in breach of Section 8 Act 672, a further declaration that all decisions taken by the defacto body of persons who constituted themselves as Governing Council is null and void and of no effect. A declaration that the contracts awarded to Sparkxx Gh Ltd, Paabadu Construction and C-Deck, were done in breach of the Procurement Act (Act 663).
Supi Kofi Kwayera also wants another declaration that all payments made to Lamas Ltd were done without the express written consent of the Ghana Highway Authority, and in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding, and same must be refunded.
A declaration that the illegally appointed Principal Officers of the 1st respondent willfully misappropriated public funds by failing to put to public tender for the construction of the North campus road and thereby causing financial loss to the state.
The suit comes months after the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, Alex Afenyo Markin – who is representing the plaintiff in the case – called for the immediate withdrawal of thousands of certificates issued by the university since 2013.
The MP, according to Citi FM – an Accra-based radio station -argued that those certificates and degrees had been invalidated by the fact that an “illegal” University Council caused them to be issued without proper legal authority.
The plaintiff, represented by Afenyo-Markin, MP for Effutu Constituency, where the University is located, had his reliefs upheld by the court, pending the determination of the case on Friday.
The university is being represented by Sampson Gura, who is contesting the issues raised by the plaintiff.
By William Yaw Owusu