Close St Vincent College of Education: Ya-Na directs over dispute, GTEC calls for calm

The Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II, has directed the closure of St Vincent College of Education in Yendi, following a disagreement over the appointment of a new principal for the college.

The directive was issued on Monday after the school’s governing board allegedly ignored the Overlord’s recommendation for the position.

The college's previous principal retired recently, creating the vacancy.

Following the development, the Overlord is said to have recommended to the board to prioritise suitable candidates who were indigenes to defuse the long-standing impression by many that indigenes were often sidelined by the authorities in recruitment.

Currently, all the offices have been locked up and the staff and management have been asked to vacate the premises until the issue is resolved.

Agreement

The Registrar of the Dagbon Traditional Council, Alhassan Abdul-Fataw, told the Daily Graphic that despite being invited to the palace and agreeing to consider the Ya-Na’s request to prioritise suitable candidates who were indigenes, the board failed to honour their pledge.

“Since the establishment of the college, no Dagomba or indigene has been appointed as principal. The King only became aware of the vacancy when interviews were already underway. The King’s appeal to address the impression that local candidates are marginalised was disregarded by the board,” he explained.

He further explained that some concerned youth had also petitioned the Overlord to intervene in the matter but when the board was invited for a meeting at the palace, they reportedly failed to comply with the directive.

Mr Abdul-Fataw said, “Some youth who were not happy with the conduct of the board mobilised to attack the school, so the Ya-Na’s intervention has also helped to restore calm and protect property”.

He indicated that about eight people applied for the vacancy and three, including indigenes, were shortlisted for the interview but they were not considered, adding that “the indigenes are equally qualified, they have good credentials and equally deserve such opportunity”.

“Aside from that, the indigenes are not always given priority when the school is offering admissions; more than 70 per cent of the students are not from this area, meanwhile our children are equally qualified and they are always denied admission” he claimed.

Reaction

When contacted, the management of the school declined to comment on the matter.

A source at the school told the Daily Graphic that authorities would be meeting the Overlord in the coming days to dialogue and resolve the issue amicably.

The Public Relations Officer of the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the school, Christopher Majah, called for a dialogue between the authorities and the Dagbon Traditional Council to resolve the impasse.

He said the issue, if not immediately resolved, would have a toll on final-year students who were currently on campus doing their project work as there would be no lecturers to supervise them.

GTEC calls for calm

Reacting to the development, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) described the closure as unfortunate and called for calm.

The Deputy Director-General of GTEC, Professor Francis K. E. Nunoo, who made the call, gave the assurance that the commission recognised the contributions and role stakeholders, including traditional authorities, played in the running of the college.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he explained that the directive by the Overlord of Dagbon was to help protect lives and property following the reaction of the youth in the area.

Respect for traditional authorities

“So, we think that we will respect that for now, while GTEC, as a regulatory body, works with all the stakeholders to try and find an amicable solution to the problem.

“The closure of the school is not good for the economy of the area, it's not good for the students, staff and the country as a whole,” Prof. Nunoo said in the interview.

He said the good thing, however, was that the school was on vacation and “We are working to resolve the issue, so we have invited the relevant stakeholders so that we can resolve it as soon as possible.”

Prof. Nunoo said the commission respected the traditional authorities for their role as partners in education delivery.

“We pray that together, we will work to ensure that the economy and education in the various areas are sustained,” he said. 

Norms for appointing officers

Prof. Nunoo hinted that the situation in the St Vincent College of Education was not an isolated case, adding that the commission was working on a similar situation at the E. P. College of Education, Bimbilla.

“We are working to address both scenarios within the shortest possible time,” he assured, adding that GTEC was governed by regulations and rules under the laws of the land.

Writer’s email:mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh