The minister of state at the presidency in charge of tertiary education Professor Kwesi Yankah has urged student unions and associations to begin the anti-corruption drive from their leadership.
The minister made the admonition at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology speaking at the opening of the twenty third congress of the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG).
Professor Yankah pointed out that there was enough evidence to show that public leaders embroiled in corruption sagas trailed the same path in their student leadership offices.
Making reference to some past incidents, he recounted that, “I have been around for a while and I realize that those who were corrupt SRC leaders followed the same trajectory until some of them were disgraced at the national level when they became politicians, members of parliament and ministers of state.”
“Those currently held up as corrupt within the society some of whom are very well known, just ask their mates about their beginnings and you will realize that it didn’t start yesterday. It started from corruption within student unions,” Prof Yankah added.
Professor Kwesi Yankah also expressed worry at the growing complaints of violence, acrimonies and accusations of rigging that has characterized student leadership elections which he described as a contest of warfare and not a matter of seeking the welfare of students.
The GRASAG congress 2017 was marked on the theme “60 years on, sustaining a national character of research and innovation for job creation and industrial transformation.”
