UCC students to carry whistles as safety precaution

Cape Coast, Nov 07, GNA - The authorities of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) are considering asking students to carry whistles on them to enable them alert their colleagues or other residents on the campus in the event of an attack on them.

This followed attacks on about six students who were stabbed and their mobile phones snatched between September and November. One of the victims, who was stabbed in the ear, is receiving treatment at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital while a man who was found stabbed to death on the UCC campus last Thursday has been identified as a teacher at a school at Nkanfoa, near Cape Coast.

Mr Jeff Onyame, Public Relations Officer of the UCC told the GNA on Monday that the UCC authorities reached the decision to encourage the use of the whistles during an emergency meeting last Friday. He said the UCC authorities were intensifying education on the need for all students to observe basic personal safety precautions such as moving in groups to deter potential assailants and refraining from using unlit footpaths and unapproved routes in the night.

Mr Onyame explained that instead of using routes provided on campus, some students preferred to use shortcuts to their hostels, mainly through the bush and have in the process, created "unapproved routes" which are often very dark.

He said UCC was also trying to improve the logistical base of its security unit by providing the unit with more vehicles for night patrols on the campus.

Discussions have also been completed with the Central Regional Police Command, for the provision of a police post on campus.