Credible information available to MyNewsGh.com suggests that the governing council of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) will be inaugurated on Tuesday 13th November 2018.
The government has agreed to compromise its earlier stance by letting both the local chapter of KNUST’s University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU) to maintain the members of their choice on the newly constituted governing council.
The University which was supposed to reopen on November 8 for academic activities to continue after it was closed down on October 22 as a results of a student uprising which turned violent hit a snag due to the ongoing impasse between government and labour unions over the selection of representatives on the new council.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah at a press conference on November 5 said ‘government does not expect any member of the old University Council to be part of the new one because it believes members of the previous KNUST governing council were partly to be blamed for the disturbance on campuses. However, UTAG and TEWU branch of KNUST came out insisting its old representatives remain on the council, condemning government’s demands.
Chancellor of the University, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II stepped in and urged the leadership of UTAG and TEWU to allow him mediate between them and government. The Otumfuor took the decision after the two groups announced a strike action insisting they won’t heed to demands of the government and will only call off their strike when the council is inaugurated with their members maintained.
It is unclear as to what has caused the government to compromise its diamond stance but barring any last minute changes, students of the University should prepare to report to school sometime this week.
MyNewsGh.com will keep you updated when a date is set for them to return to school