THE UNIVERSITY Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has accused management and council of the University of Education Winnebago (UEW) of seeking to deepen a new culture of fear and silence on UEW campus.
UTAG made the claim at a press conference on Tuesday in Accra to set the records straight on the UEW’s impasse.
National president of UTAG, Dr. Eric Opoku Mensah, in a statement read to the media, said “it is clear that the UEW Management and Council led by Prof. Afful-Broni and Prof. Abakah, respectively, are clearly on a path to deepen a new culture of fear and silence on UEW campus.
This culture is antithetical to the very spirit of academia.”
There has been some unrest recently at UEW following the dismissal of some seven lecturers.
Students protested the dismissal of the lecturers, destroying the University’s properties in the process.
Police moved in to apparently control the situation but ended up firing warning shots.
Dr. Opoku Mensah sharing UTAG’s considered opinion over the impasse, said “UTAG strongly admonishes any group or groups interested in the proper
corporate culture of a 21st century University to visit UEW and without doubt, one will witness the collapse of deliberations, consensus building and freedom of expression on the campus.”
He wondered “why should lecturers be loyal to the Vice Chancellor, Rev. Prof. Afful-Broni , failure of which should lead to their victimization?”
According to him, “the University is not a place to build a cult or a sect where followership is a necessity.”
He added that “UTAG notes with concern this growing sectarian nonacademic culture and the rise of a dragon at UEW.”
He added that “If we do not wake up to cure this canker the effects of the crises of UEW will be perpetuated by
generations to come.”
The situation, he said, “is so bad that there is now a culture of silence on UEW campuses.
If this is not true, is the deafening silence of the lecturers on happenings on
UEW not surprising? he quizzed
According to him, the few lecturers who are bold to talk are the once being dismissed under the guise of a so called due process.
He noted that “Prof. Abakah claims that UTAG had exaggerated the number of persons who have been dismissed, suspended or demoted under the current Governing Council and that it was meant to put the Council in a negative light.”
Dr. Opoku Mensah said one would have thought that the Governing Council would have set the records straight by providing the exact numbers.
“Having failed to do so out of shame, UTAG provides the following details of Staff who have been affected by the treacherous decisions of the Vice Chancellor and the Chairman of the Governing Council in just a little over one year.”
BY Melvin Tarlue