Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said government has no ulterior motive in smothering academic freedom in its pursuit of the Public Universities Bill.
According to the Information Minister, an instruction was given on the floor of Parliament to ensure that all concerns and views of the various stakeholders of the Bill are captured in the Bill before it is passage.
His remarks are tailing assertions made by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) that the Bill, if passed in its current state will stifle academic freedom in tertiary institutions.
In an interview, Associate Professor at the University Of Ghana School Of Law, Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua noted that, the government and other stakeholders have not come to terms with the ideas and principles that, the university should be given the functional necessity of academic freedom.
“They think that there should be that control and if that is introduced, evidence from other countries indicates that we are going down the drain.
“I am not sure the committee understands the seriousness that this Bill if turned into Law, would have,” he added.
Reacting to Prof. Appiagyei-Atua’s comment, Hon. Oppong Nkrumah said “Subsequent to yesterday’s meeting, a decision was made to broaden the consultation, not just to make it a UTAG – Legon matter but to broaden the engagement.
“It is only unfortunate that any time you engage, it is interpreted as trying to do something on the other side.”
He indicated that a copy of the drafted bill was made available to UTAG and other stakeholders for perusal.
He went on to say that the availability of the draft to UTAG and other stakeholders was for them to “tell us whether or not it captures that which you want to be captured and if you want some further amendments, let us have it.
“Until then considerations on the floor, admittedly, where you are not part of, is suspended.”
The Information Minister disclosed that, everyone has the opportunity to examine the drafted bill and give feedback which will determine the next course of action.
The Executive Director of the Institute of Educations Studies (IFEST), Peter Anti, who was on the same discussion noted that, government is in a haste to pass the Bill.
He said the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) has been given a timeline (Tuesday, December 22) to submit their views on the Bill.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah refuted Mr. Anti’s comment by saying “we don’t have a timeline of Tuesday for them to submit their concerns.
“The Tuesday is a timeline that they selected to tell us when they will bring their views. So, the Tuesday is not a timeline selected for them to bring their views.”
Per comments from Mr. Nkrumah, recommendations made by the various group such as TUTAG has been factored in the current Bill.
“What they should do is to go back to those groups, consult them, tell them that this is what we submitted and this is how it’s been addressed so they need some time to do all this work.”
The Information Minister admonished the general public to disregard notions that the Bill has been passed saying “such suspicion is not founded”.
There have been concerns that Government is in a rush to pass the Public Universities Bill which may cause lapses in the details of the bill, but Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said, there is no such plan by the Government.
He, however, said if all relevant concerns and views are captured before the 7th Parliament closes, the Government may go ahead to pass the Bill, if not , the 8th Parliament may have to look at it all over again.
“The Vice President gave UTAG his assurance that we are not in a hurry to pass a bill; that creates more problems than it solves.”
The Bill which was initially suspended in October due to public outburst was brought before Parliament again on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
However, Parliament after consultation with the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Wednesday, suspended the process of the Bill to give way for broader consultation to be done.
