Poly students to return to the classroom soon

Accra, Aug. 25, GNA - The Leadership of Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) has undertaken to meet its members to get them to return to the classroom in the shortest possible time after a three-month boycott of lectures. The Leadership committed itself to get the students back to lectures in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) they signed with the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports on Wednesday.

The Ministry in turn undertook "to communicate with the Public Services Commission (PSC) to formally write establishing the Senior Officer's status of the Higher National Diploma (HND) holder in some Public Sectors; which will be made available to the Student Leadership and the enlarged Prof. Asabre's Standing Committee. "The enlarged Prof. Asabre's Standing Committee will use the document from the Public Service Commission to continue its advocacy work, aimed at getting various stakeholders affected to make the necessary changes.

The Sector Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu; Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education and Alhaji Salifu Seidu, Deputy Executive Secretary, National Council for Tertiary Education, signed on behalf of the Government. Mr Frank Kwansah, President; Mr Mohammed Ibn Issa Suka, Secretary, and Mr Adade Ernest, Coordinating Secretary, all of GNUPS, signed on behalf of the Student Leadership. Polytechnic students decided to boycott lectures to demand that an HND holder should be accorded a senior officers' status in some Government establishments. They cited the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); VAT Service, Custom, Excise and Preventive Service; Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces as institutions where the HND holder was not given the appropriate job placement.