The Dean of the School of Sciences at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani, Prof. Peter Appiahene, has extended a gesture to a newly admitted student who expressed sadness over the poor state of the university’s campus.
According to a social media post carrying a video of the encounter, the gesture was meant to lift the student’s spirits and reassure her about her choice of school.
“The gesture was to help lighten her mood and assure her that despite the school’s infrastructural challenges compared to other universities, it remains a good institution to pursue her studies,” the post highlighted.
Dean moves to reassure new student
Prof. Appiahene, an Associate Professor, is said to have acted after the student voiced distress about the university’s facilities. The post said he wanted her to know that infrastructure gaps, which it acknowledged exist when UENR is compared with other universities, should not overshadow the quality of the institution.
The video, credited to “streetprof_”, shows an office setting with people present. The post did not specify the nature of the gesture, the student’s name or when the encounter took place. The university had not publicly commented on the video at the time of this report.
Online reaction turns to facilities
The gesture drew a strong response on X, with many users using the encounter to criticise conditions at the university, some under the hashtag #fixuenrnow.One user, Lakerz (@mehiabombele), argued that student funds were being misdirected.
“The saddest part is that SRC will be spending student money a sum of over GH¢200000.00 on artist night alone which can provide chair and table to ensure suitable learning. Misplacement of priorities. SMH.”
A netizen bemoans
The claim about the SRC’s spending is unverified.The post quoted a video from user WALINKY_77, which appeared to show a crowded lecture space. “This is how students of UENR struggle to get chairs for their lectures. Chale. Fix the NO CHAIR SYNDROME IN UENR NOW!!” the user wrote.
Another user, TeeT (@ClareTergu), questioned whether the gesture addressed the student’s concerns.
“How will this address the problems she outlined regarding the university? It won’t stop the public particularly students at UENR from demanding improved facilities.”
A netizen raised a concern.
Comparisons with senior high schools
Several commenters compared the university’s facilities with those of secondary schools. User fc_karsdorp, who said he lives near the campus, wrote: “I stay few meters from the University, Sunyani Senior High School has better infrastructures than UENR.” Tunche1 (@Tunche123456) went further, claiming that “more than 200 shs has proper facilities” than the university, in a post that also used an expletive to describe the institution.
Another user, Major (@big_major77), wrote: “Chale the Government need to make this a senior high fr.” Osu Micheal Scofield offered a Pidgin-English view that UENR “fit go toe to toe with then Nigeria universities,” which appears to be a comparison, though the post did not make clear whether it was meant as praise or criticism.
Netizens challenge proposed medicine programme
Some of the sharpest comments concerned reports that the university plans to offer medicine. User Nay (@gyamfi__01) wrote: “I heard, UENR wants to start offering medicine from next year going eiii. I will personally step in and make sure no student buy medicine forms from UENR. Other programs lacks equipped labs for practicals and look at this, pure wickedness.”
Tunche1 also invoked the Medical and Dental Council (MDC), writing that if it allowed the university to run medicine, it should allow all top senior high schools to do so. The report of a planned medicine programme is unconfirmed, and UENR had not responded to it in the posts reviewed.
Commentary: Gesture versus structural demands
The dean’s reported gesture reads as a personal, humane response to a distressed student. The reaction online suggests the public sees the issue as structural rather than emotional.
TeeT’s question captures the core of that view: reassurance may comfort one student, but it does not supply chairs, laboratories or lecture space. The post itself concedes “infrastructural challenges,” which lends weight to the students’ complaints.
The comparisons with senior high schools are rhetorical and anecdotal. They show frustration but are not evidence. The same applies to the GH¢200,000 figure and the medicine claims, which need verification from the SRC and UENR management.
What the reaction does show is that the conversation has moved from one student’s feelings to a demand for accountability. The test now is whether UENR’s management responds publicly to the specific concerns about seating, laboratories and facilities.
READ ALSO: Food Suppliers Plan Five-Day Protest Over GH¢250m Free SHS Debt
