The governing council of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been dissolved with immediate effect.
An interim council was sworn-in after the dissolving of the old one with government directing that the school be reopened within 14-days.
This comes after authorities of the school closed it down on Tuesday, following a violent protest by students on Monday.
About 35 cars were destroyed by angry students during the protest.
Students clashed with administration and security personnel over what they describe as unfair treatment in recent time.
Dozens of students defied the Dean of Students, Mr Gariba’s order to boycott the demo and return to class for lectures.
The student followed the order of the SRC executives that called on the all and sundry to boycott class and instead demonstrate against the unfair treatment rendered to them by the school authorities.
They turned up in their numbers and demonstrated across the street of the school.
The school main administration block was subjected to different attacks. Offices, documents, files and glasses, Plasma television and many others were destroyed.
About 30 police officers and 15 military men joined the police already there but couldn’t stop the agitated student from registering their grievances.
The military tried their best to restore sanity to the extent of firing tear gas at the student in order to make sure peace is restored.
Background
The School’s security on Friday [19th October 2018] pounced on unarmed students who were having a peaceful vigil at the forecourt of the hall in protest of management’s freeze on “morale”, a usual Friday night jamboree in all the halls at the school.
The University in a communique signed and posted both the Continental Hall and University Hall Management asked the student body to cease their usual ‘Friday Night Morale’ as the school has suspended the activity.
The notice read “Notice is hereby given that all forms of “morales” in and around the University Hall are suspended with immediate effect. This decision was taken in view of several negative issues encountered recently with respect to morales in the hall. Any person who flouts this directive shall receive the necessary sanction and response”.
Angel FM’s Nanayaw Amagyei who was at the school at the time of the incident told MyNewsGh.com that, school security numbering over 20 and armed to the teeth who said they were “only carrying out an order”, pounced on the students who had gathered at the forecourt and singing dirges, arrested seven and brutalized them with canes and stun guns unprovoked.
The rampaging security men, escorted by some officers of the KNUST Police accosted the journalist (Nana Yaw Amagyei) who was filming the students at the vigil and ceased his video camera, before unleashing the attack on the unsuspecting students, after being convinced that there was no camera or recorder in hand to record their deeds.
The said camera is still in the custody of the KNUST security as at the time of filing this story.
An alumnus of the hall, whose name was not immediately known but nicknamed as “Ashaina”, who was present at the time of the attack is also in the custody of the Tech Police after been brutalized and whisked away in a security van alongside seven students.
One student who was singled-out and chased till he was caught by the marauding security personnel is battling for his life at the University Hospital, after sustaining severe injuries and shocks, dragged on the floor and kicked till he collapsed. The authorities of the school are yet to make any statement on the matter.
The governing council of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been dissolved with immediate effect.
