General News of Sunday, 16 July 2017
Source: citifmonline.com
2017-07-16
Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh
The Minority in Parliament is demanding an immediate intervention by government in the current impasse that has rocked the University of Education, Winneba.
They want the Minister of Education Matthew Opoku Prempeh to mediate in the crisis which affected the smooth running of the school.
A Winneba High Court on Friday ordered the Vice Chancellor of the university to step aside in an ongoing suit challenging the legitimacy of the school’s Governing Council and some administrators.
Lectures in the school have declared a strike to protest against the ruling.
Speaking to Citi News the Minority Spokesperson on Education, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe lashed out at the Minister of Education for doing little about the situation.
“I am of the view that the intervention of the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, will go a long way to resolve the matter. This is what I have been expecting from him for a long time now. If he had intervened earlier I’m sure matters wouldn’t have reached the level it has gotten to now. So I feel that if he does that help in bringing normalcy to the university.”
He said it is rather unfortunate that only two principal positions out of three appointed by the governing board have been asked to step aside.
“…Now they have asked two of the three officers appointed by that authority to step aside and honour over to the third person who is was also appointed.
That is where I’m not comfortable because if three are appointed and we say they are not legally recognized then the three of them should go away not hand over to another person who was appointed by that authority. That is where the problem is and that is what UTAG is not happy about. Because if you say A and B should not be there why should C remain in office? That is where I expect the minister to come in,” he added.
Court orders UEW Vice Chancellor to step aside
Nortsu-Kotoe‘s remark comes on the back of a High Court order to the Vice Chancellor of UEW, Professor Mawutor Avokeh, to step aside until a case brought against him is determined.
The court order also affected the school’s Finance Officer.
The court made the order in a case brought before it by one, Supi Kofi Kwayera who insisted the Vice Chancellor and the Finance Officer were operating under the institution’s defunct governing council.
