The government has dissolved the Governing Council of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) following riots by the students on Monday that led to the destruction of 40 cars, 10 motorbikes as well as school property.

A statement issued by Mr Ekow Vincent Assafuah, PRO, Ministry of Education, said in the stead of the dissolved council, a 7-member Interim Council has been put in place to run the school.

“It has also been directed that the university reopens within fourteen days to enable academic work to continue”, the statement said.

The Interim Council, chaired by Nana Effah Apenteng, Paramount Chief of the Bompata Traditional Area, has a three-month tenure.

This follows briefs and recommendations made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, after he led a high-powered delegation, including the Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah; and the Minister-Designate of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, to Kumasi.

On Monday, 22 October 2018, there were disturbances on the campus of KNUST during which properties were vandalised.

The university was subsequently shut down indefinitely upon the advice of the Regional Security Council.

The view of the university management, as the delegation observed, was that increasingly, there had been acts of wayward behaviour, hooliganism and incidents of violence on campus, hence the need to take steps to protect life and property, the statement noted.

“The position of the student leadership was that the issues go beyond the university’s policy to convert all the halls of residence into mixed-sex halls. It emerged further that the students felt oppressed by some policies of the university authorities and that they lived in fear. They believed they did not have enough opportunities for conflict resolution and dialogue with the authorities, resulting in a breakdown of trust between students and the authorities”, the statement noted.

The government’s immediate priority, according to the statement, “Is to expedite the reopening of the university to ensure a smooth return to academic work. This view is shared by the university’s lecturers. The government is also mindful of an adverse international image the country would suffer if the university remained closed for a protracted period, especially given the substantial number of foreign students at KNUST. However, the government has been advised by the Ashanti Regional Security Council that without a resolution of the relevant matters, it would not be safe to reopen the university”.

The Ministry of Education said it took the view that the Governing Council was not in a position to review its own processes and decisions affecting the student body to guarantee peace. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education recommended to the government the suspension of the university’s Governing Council and the establishment of an Interim Council.

The government subsequently directed the suspension of the KNUST Governing Council and the establishment of a seven-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) chaired by Nana Effah Apenteng, Paramount Chief of the Bompata Traditional Area. The IMC, which was inaugurated earlier today, has a three-month mandate to oversee the day-to-day running of the university and to investigate all outstanding matters in order to expedite the reopening of the university.

Apart from Nana Effah Appenteng, who chairs the IC, the members include Prof Rita Akosua Dickson, Prof Joshua Agyarkwa, Dr. Edward Baffoe Bonnie, Hilda Haggar, Mrs. Abena N. Antwi, and Mr. Kelvin Sah.

The government “unreservedly condemns the damage to private and public property during the disturbances as unacceptable in any circumstances, and states for emphasis that those found culpable following investigations will be surcharged accordingly”, the statement said, adding: “It is the expectation of government that the IC will work assiduously per its terms of reference, culminating in the early reopening of the university to restore normalcy”. -ClassFM