The registrar at the University of Education, Winneba has mounted a defence for students of the school following violent protests that led to the school’s temporal shutdown.

According to Paul Osei Barimah, most of those who engaged in the protests were “outsiders from town” and not students.

He told Joy News’ Richard Kwadwo Nyarko that he cannot tell why outsiders would decide to involve themselves in an internal UEW affair.

“Most of the students were at lectures and they went there to create a lot of disturbances and panic and most of the students had to abandon their lectures,” Braimah said in a very frustrated tone.

The Registrar believes there are some people masterminding the attacks on the school’s management and “wanting to use the students.”

“We are seriously investigating,” he said, adding that by Monday they would do everything to let the public knows the side of the university’s governing council.

What caused the protests?

Students marched across the North campus of the university in protest of three lectures who have been axed by the council.

The students want the university to bring back their lecturers. They marched across campus demanding so at the top of their voices on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the numbers increased despite assurances from the Minister of State at the Ministry of Education in charge of tertiary.

They disrupted lectures of their colleague who won’t join the struggle. Sensing a degeneration, police was deployed to the campus.

But a blackout on Wednesday evening aided the students as they burned tyres and blocked roads; having darkness to mask their identity.

They vandalised school buildings and school buses and other property.

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) early on supported the protest but cautioned against excesses.

Students stranded

The police have since been deployed to the campus to flash out the students.

According to some students who spoke to JoyNews Friday morning, they are stranded on campus following the closedown.

One of them explained that they did not hear the news of the close down early and so their luggage is locked in their halls but the police won’t give them access.

Who is to blame?

Accusing fingers have been pointed at the recently sworn in Vice-Chancellor, Rev. Professor Anthony Afful-Broni.


Rev. Professor Anthony Afful-Broni

He is being accused of going on a spree to purge the staff of perceived foes. Thirty members of booth teaching and non-teaching staff have been sacked.

But the Vice-Chancellor hasn’t responded to these claims.

Three influential staff sacked

Principal of the College of Languages Education at Ajumako Prof. Ephraim Avea Nsoh was sacked because he had not been cooperating with other management members, the Daily Graphic has reported.

The local President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Dr. Frimpong Kakyire Duku, was sacked after initiating legal action against his employer “without any cause” and without exhausting internal procedures.

A former Alumni President who was representing the alumni on the University Council, Dr. Emmanuel Osei Sarpong, was sacked based on an allegation that he showed a sign of disrespect to the University Council, by deciding to exclude himself from a Council meeting, which he said was about taking a decision he was not comfortable with.