Mountcrest Univ calls for investigation into NAB’s directive
Mountcrest University College has appealed to the government to investigate circumstances leading to the directive by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) to the college not to admit new students to its law faculty.
A statement issued to the Daily Graphic after the 7th matriculation and 3rd congregation of the college at Akuapem Larteh, quoted the Rector of the college, Mr Kwaku Ansa-Asare, as saying that the directive, which was signed and issued by Mr Kwame Darteh, the Executive Secretary, National Accreditation Board (NAB), was based on what he described as “inaccurate information” which must be rescinded immediately.
“The NAB has placed a moratorium on the admission of new students to our faculty of law because they claim our facilities are in a deplorable state; no library and limited lecture blocks to contain the number of students we already have. It is also interesting because they claim that we have admitted 400 students this academic year, when in fact we have not admitted any. All the reasons for the ban are false,” he stressed.
Discouragement
He said “it is unfortunate that instead of the NAB working to support private institutions in the country to build an enviable educational sector, it is rather harassing and creating a difficult environment for us to operate. It is on this note that I call on the government to step in and investigate the activities of the NAB.”.
The event was on the theme: “Tackling Affiliation and Accreditation Challenges facing Private Institutions: The Role of Government.”
Held on the Akuapem Larteh campus of the college in the Eastern Region, the event officially ushered in students admitted in 2016 and the graduate class of 2016.
Discounting the allegations by the university in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Severious Kale-Dery reports that the Executive Secretary of the NAB, Mr Dartey, dismissed the accusations.
He explained that it was a team made up of the NAB and the Ghana Legal Council that visited the Mountcrest University and came out with the recommendations which included the directive for the school to stop fresh admissions.
He said the team was specific about the Kanda campus, where it was detected that the school had 70 students to a lecturer per programme, which was far above the approved 30 students to one lecturer.
Mr Dartey said the options Mr Ansa Asare had was to either recruit more professionals to augment the number of lecturers to meet the required ratio or sack some of the students already admitted.
He said the second option was, however, not feasible because the students had already paid their fees and could, therefore, not be asked to withdraw.
He described the accusations as “baseless and unfair to him as a person” saying that Mr Ansa Asare was only speaking out of emotion.
Mr Dattey explained that the joint team was formed to undertake the exercise following a concern raised by the then Chief Justice about the quality of students produced by law schools in the country.
He explained that the team visited the faculty of all institutions offering law and Mountcrest was one of them, pointing out that after the auditing, the team wrote a report and after deliberations, he was instructed to write to the school.
Mr Ansa-Asare urged the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), to which the college is affiliated, to continue to nurture and provide the needed guidance to enhance the growth and development of the college.
The Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr Kwasi Abeasi, said the council would use all available means to resolve all outstanding issues impeding the college’s growth.
A Deputy Minister of Information, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, assured the college of the government’s commitment to work to ensure that there was the necessary collaboration and partnership among key stakeholders towards the growth of private tertiary institutions.
