A youth group in Tamale has expressed concern about the idea of altering the University of Development Studies as it is presently constituted.
The Concerned Youth Group, in a statement issued in Tamale and signed by its president, Mohammed Sisudeen and its secretary, Mahmud Zulka, urged the government to proceed cautiously in implementing any recommendations from a committee led by Dr. Christine Amoako Nuamah, that was set up last year to look at the possibility of converting the three campuses of the University of Development Studies(UDS), Wa, Navrongo and Nyankpala into autonomous universities. The move, amongst others, is to expand access to quality tertiary education in the country.
Despite reminding the government that any decision to hasten the process will defeat its intended purpose, the youth, nonetheless, lauded the government decision to covert the three campuses of UDS into independent universities because the move will expand access to tertiary education in the country, particularly in northern Ghana.
However, they cautioned government to be mindful of critical issues that may come up regarding the conversion in order not to deviate UDS from the purpose for which it was established.
In their view, any decision to review the exiting PNDC law, 279, 1992 that established UDS will be dangerous under the circumstances. The youth also want the name ’’University for Development Studies’’ to remain unchanged and that the conversion process should not prevent UDS from expansion in both academic programmes and physical locations.
The statement also expressed the hope that the government in the interest of peace and fair play should not be stampeded into actions that will ultimately be injurious to the harmony the north has enjoyed over the years.
The statement finally made a passionate appeal to the ruling National Democratic Congress led by President John Dramani not to be the one to lead in the destruction of the excellent academic foundation laid by former president Jerry John Rawlings for Northern Ghana in particular and the whole country as a whole.
The present Government has been doing well in the areas of infrastructure on all the campuses, why destroy the good work? the statement quizzed.