Wa Poly students demonstrate against absence of principal officers

Wa, Feb. 28, GNA - Students of the Wa Polytechnic on Friday demonstrated through the principal streets of Wa against the long absence of some principal officers of the Polytechnic.

The absence of these principal officers, including the Polytechnic's Council Chairman, the Rector and the Acting Registrar, according to the students, is not only affecting the day-to-day running of the affairs of the school but also making education at the institution bleak for both current and future students.

Master Tinus Touzie, the President of the Wa Polytechnic Students' Representative Council (SRC), in a petition to the Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana said the three were asked to step aside because of a court case but did not indicate who sent them to court and for what reason(s).

The SRC President read the petition to the Regional Minister and was flanked by his colleague students holding placards with short messages such as 'Wa polytechnic is collapsing', 'SRC funds must be released', 'President redeem Wa Poly', 'We need a hostel' and 'No Rector, no Registrar, no Council Chairman how can we grow?'.

'These people are supposed to ensure the institution functions as a normal tertiary institution as stated under the 1992 constitution of Ghana and the Polytechnic Act 745, 2007 and the Statutes of Wa Polytechnic',   he stated.

The situation, he noted affected students and the smooth running of the institution in various ways, such as the difficulty of the SRC accessing its own funds because some of the officers absent were signatories to the SRC account.

Other difficulties caused by the situation include the inability of the Polytechnic to matriculate fresh men and women and also to officially graduate students who have successfully graduated.

In addition, the absence of these principal officers had also slowed down procedures in preparing the Polytechnic towards its conversion into a technical University and also limited the supply of logistics for teaching and learning.

It has also led to the cancelation of the incoming annual inter-polytechnic games that was to be hosted by the institution as well as caused the abandonment of some projects such as a student hostel facility and library complex.

Master Touzie noted that the Polytechnic community had waited for so long in silence to no avail, adding that, the student body had not lost hope in the future of the institution, hence, the demand for new leadership to be put in place as soon as possible to restore hope.

He called on the President, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the region, the Chief Justice, the Minister of Education and other stakeholders of the Polytechnic to help salvage the situation to prevent it from collapsing.

Receiving the petition on behalf of the President, Alhaji Sulemani thanked the students for using the appropriate procedure to channel their grievances without any acts of violence.

He said government cannot over look the court process but assured them that it would do its best to resolve the situation within the shortest possible time.

GNA