Disqualify Prof. Wilson Agyei Agyare from contesting as Provost – KNUST students demand

A group calling itself Concerned Students of KNUST has called on the University to disqualify Prof. Wilson Agyei Agyare from contesting for the vacant Pro-Vice-Chancellor position in the school.

According to the group, the paternalistic character of the office occupied by Prof. Wilson Agyei Agyare “has turned into a predatory role, where students are often threatened with unjustified dismissals, superfluous disciplinary actions, withdrawal of academic certificates, and trailing students amongst others without any legitimate cause."

The group added that students who are victims are unable to seek redress especially due to the entertained fears that the threats would be carried out as well as their inability powerful officers.

"This is often reflected in a rather unfortunate misconception in the society that “the child can never win against an adult/elderly, because the adult/elderly is always right” and therefore should not be made to contest for a Pro Vice Chancellor role on the campus of the University."

Below is the full statement:

THE CHAIRMAN UNIVERSITY COUNCIL C/O THE VICE CHANCELLOR KNUST

Dear Sir,

PETITION TO DISQUALIFY PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE FROM CONTESTING IN THE PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR ELECTION.

It was announced for the information of Members of Convocation that the Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor shall become vacant in September.

Consequently, the Vice-Chancellor in accordance with Statute 13(b) nominated PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE among three persons for the position of Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University. It is against his nomination that we the Concerned Students of KNUST present this petition for his disqualification.

We respectfully endorse his disqualification from contesting in the said election slated for Wednesday 23rd September 2020 as per the grounds stated herein.

THE GROUNDS OF THE PETITIONERS ARE AS FOLLOW;

- It is alleged that a Bulk Text Message sent from the office of the Dean Student as a counter to an earlier communique issued by the Student Representative Council (SRC) escalated the Monday, October 22nd 2018 impasse on KNUST campus. For which reason the then Dean of Students was removed from office for PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE to assume this position.

It is factual that, PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE was at the material time, the Vice Dean of students. One would have thought that, since the fruit of the forbidding tree is itself forbidden, he ought to have been removed from office also; yet, he was rather promoted as the Dean of Students.

Nonetheless, he has since 2018 lost the trust of the students to lead in any such capacity. In his quest to regain the trust of students, he deployed Machiavellian and mischievous tactics, which all together subvert the freedom of students. Accordingly, he ought not to be granted any such access to the PRO-VC position.

- The paternalistic character of the office has turned into a predatory role, where students are often threatened with unjustified dismissals, superfluous disciplinary actions, withdrawal of academic certificates, and trailing students amongst others without any legitimate cause.

Mostly, students who are victims are unable to seek redress. Primary, due to the entertained fears that these threats would be carried out, and their inability or perhaps their lack of resources to fight these powerful officers. This is often reflected in a rather unfortunate misconception in the society that “the child can never win against an adult/elderly, because the adult/elderly is always right”

- The office of the Dean of students under the management of PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE and the Vice Dean has been used as a vehicle to conceive, propel and to execute various unethical and propagandist schemes against students. There is a litany of evidence of various unethical publications on online news portals, which are calculated attempts to subject their victims (students) reputation to contempt and public ridicule. Most often, all these schemes are executed against blameless students for charting legitimate actions, which rather turns out to be distasteful to his interest.

Recently, an issue concerning a student over his alleged involvement in a hostel fraud following complaints at the Dean of Student’s office was swiftly leaked and published in an online news portal owned and managed by a local radio station in Kumasi, where the Vice Dean of Students presently works as a host.

PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE is supervising a fraudulent and unethical scheme by which he and the Vice Dean divert and pay funds meant for SRC activities into their accounts for “building” those accounts before releasing them for their intended purposes.

Also, they have established syndicates which aids students leaders in clearing cheques by providing them with VAT invoices, account numbers etc at negotiated percentages. These schemes allow cheques to be cleared into a syndicate account which is then withdrawn for student leaders. This is not only unethical, but also a breach of his fiduciary duty.

PROF. WILSON AGYEI AGYARE has been entertaining gifts in the form of allowances, seasonal humpers from students’ leaders, which are charged on students’ accounts. Mostly the budgets for these gifts run into Thousands of cedis.

For these reasons, we respectfully endorse his disqualification from contesting in the said election slated for Wednesday 23rd September 2020 as per the grounds stated herein. We also appeal to the Council to conduct systematic and impartial investigations into the issues raised herein.

For the fear of stigmatization and unjustified threats of dismissal or disciplinary action etc, we deliberately will have to conceal the identity of the petitioners. Nonetheless, the petitioners are willing to volunteer information and produce We have also presented a similar request to CHRAJ, The Ministry of Education, and Vice Chancellor’s Ghana to extend some protection to any student who is willing to volunteer information for the purposes of investigations into this petition.

SIGNED CSAK

[email protected]

CC: Members of Convocation

Provost of all Colleges

Dean of all Faculties

CHRAJ

Ministry of Education

Vice Chancellors Ghana

(VCG)

UTAG

TEWUevidence to aid any investigations through our official email address; namely, [email protected]