This is the official statement delivered by the SRC President, Edmond Kombat at the Press Conference held at the Students’ Union Building.
A PRESS CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY UNIVERSITY OF GHANA SRC AND GRASAG ON THE STRIKE ACTION ENBARKED UPON BY GAUA ON THE 4TH OF JULY, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen from the Press, colleague students and friends. We are gathered here today informed by the history of our education, the present state and the future. Today’s Press conference is being organized by the official mouth piece of the University of Ghana students following what appears to be a deadlock on migrating the Ghana Association of University Administrators(GAUA) by the Fair Wages and Salary Commission(FWSC) onto the Single Spine Salaries Structure(SSSS).
Friends from the media, it is tacit in the rules governing the migration onto the SSSS that, two faces of agreement are used in the migration process, the Levels and Figures Phases of agreement. The level Phase of agreement has been met but they still grapple with the Figures Phase of agreement. The student body has suffered injustice done to them by workers and government in the public Universities and this must stop. The services rendered by GAUA to the Public Universities in Ghana are invaluable and at any moment when such services are withdrawn, it affects the very fabric of running the Universities.
Currently, the University of Ghana objective of graduating students in July, August and November respectively for the first time in so many years looks very gloomy because of this strike action. The strike action has crippled the University hospital which has virtually closed down meanwhile over eight thousand Distance and Continuing education students are on campus to write their exams. The central operation of the Universities has ceased to function and this can lead to a break in the Academic calendar. Admission of freshmen and women will be affected and this can lead to triple admission of students in two years’ time because there will be two batches of fresher’s graduating from the second cycle into the Universities at that time.
Ladies and gentlemen, students cannot access attestation letters, certificates, transcripts and general documents because of this strike. School fees have been approved but not made public to students to plan for next academic year because of this strike. The payment of June salaries to UTAG, FUSAG ,TEWU among others have been stalled because of this strike.
We have to get serious as a country and treat education with all the seriousness it deserves. For over a month now, the SRC is disappointed that the FWSC and GAUA could not reach a common ground over the Market Premium. Education is a right and not a privilege. Innocent students cannot continue to suffer this impasse anymore.
In conclusion, we are pleading with GAUA to relax their stand and resume work so the innocent Ghanaian Student does not suffer and FWSC to quicken up with the migration of GAUA members onto the SSSS who are only 600 for the six Public Universities in Ghana so we can have an amicable academic environment full of peace and harmony for learning. We therefore call on all necessary stakeholders like the Labour Commission itself, the National Council for Tertiary Education and the Vice Chancellors Ghana to mediate in resolving this issue.
Thank you.
SIGNED
Edmond B. Kombat
SRC President
University of Ghana
