Sex For Academic Favour

The sex scandal which has hit the country’s premier university is not a thing to be glossed over.

This is a sad occurrence in the history of tertiary education in the country and it calls for a moral auditing of other tertiary institutions in the country.

The phenomenon has been ongoing for a while now but with no concrete or even verifiable evidence it fizzles under the cloak of hearsay.

Female students bold enough to talk about it to their mates have narrated their ordeals at the hands of bad randy lecturers.

As Ghanaians, our hearts are broken because some of the suspects in the scandal are known visages in the media plane, their incessant and cacophonous pontifications on political scandals presenting them as better personalities for the position of minister or even president.

Now that they have shown their worth or unworthiness, we now know better why we should listen to such persons with a pinch of salt.

Imagine paying so much to have your daughter educated only for such moral predators to pounce upon them using enhanced exam grades as baits.  

What moral authority do such persons have to come and pontificate about the politician-created challenges in society? Of course, none!

The moral decadence on the university campuses especially the public ones should be tackled now, lest it gains such a foothold it could be almost impossible to eradicate.

A few months ago, the University of Ghana was at the centre of a reprimand in what the accuser said was a lowering of standards at the tertiary institution. While we did not agree with the unnecessary polemics we are tempted to fret about the possibility of the sex-for-grades scandal feeding into that narrative. The attacker could easily smile and say to himself “I told you so.”

We are concerned about the diminished aura of the premier university and like other Ghanaians we ask that something is done about this scandal now.

The truth must be out. Suspects who have been cited in the scandal must be given the opportunity to talk because we think that this way so much can be gleaned about the blemish which is threatening the integrity of our tertiary system.

The university authorities must act now to restore the image of the University of Ghana and as we said earlier this scandal is not limited to the premier tertiary institution.

We must look beyond the tip of the iceberg if we want to do an effective job at reversing this image dent.