Prof Anthony Afful-Broni
AN ATTEMPT by a
group of dismissed staff of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) to stage
turmoil on campus Tuesday, July 23, 2019, was subdued by authorities with the
assistance of the Ghana Police.
Led by a former
Vice-Chancellor, the group stormed the main administrative block, and headed
straight to the council chamber to address a press conference to announce their
assumption of leadership at the university.
However, a team of
security officers, which was quickly summoned, removed the unauthorised group
from the facility, and restored calm there.
Public Relations
Officer of UEW, Ernest Azutiga, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE in an
interview Thursday on campus, said the incident took place while the Vice-Chancellor
was at post attending to normal activities. He said the Vice-Chancellor remained
at post and carried out his lawful duties till the close of day.
Mr Azutiga therefore
urged students, parents, staff, alumni and all other stakeholders of the university
to treat with utmost contempt any suggestion that there has been a change of the
Vice Chancellor.
In a statement
issued and signed by the Registrar, the university emphasised that the
Vice-Chancellor, Very Rev. Prof Anthony Afful-Broni, was still at post contrary
to some mischievous reports circulating in mainstream media and on social
media.
“We further assure
our cherished students, parents, staff, alumni and all other stakeholders that
the university premises are opened, safe and secured for business. All
administrative and academic activities, including our sandwich sessions which
commenced on Monday, July 22, 2019, are going on in earnest.
“We urge all
stakeholders to remain calm and further wish to indicate that in due course, we
shall keep them and the general public abreast of any new development in the
university.”
He added that the dismissed
staff were invited on a number of occasions to appear before a disciplinary
board instituted by the UEW council to react to findings established against them
by an established fact-finding committee but refused.
Members of the
university teachers association and other staff have also in a statement,
reacted to a press release issued by the group which staged the disorder.
“We the entire
general members of UTAG-UEW are scandalized by a coup d’état-like press release
issued on July 23rd 2019 by Dr. Frimpong Kaakyire Duku, president of
UTAG-UEW and his executives, purporting that we the members of UTAG-UEW support
a rather weird, scandalous and most frivolous position of a self-declared
reinstatement back to office of the former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mawutor
Avoke, and some other dismissed staff of the University.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has emphasised that Prof Afful-Broni remained the Vice-Chancellor of UEW.
BY Samuel Boadi
