Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Deputy Minister of Education in-charge of tertiary, has condemned an action by some students in the Volta Region which truncated a planned familiarization tour to the region by the New Patriotic Party’s running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The students were said to have protested the decision by Dr Bawumia to address them.
This they say was to equalize a similar action that was meted out against Okudzeto Ablakwa and his colleagues.
[contextly_sidebar id=”H49NeBki8NIOElnRVDe8Tp9L4bbco6aG”]The deputy minister together with two others suffered a similar fate few days ago.
Some students selected from various institutions in the Ashanti region heckled the Minister during his presentation at a planned programme dubbed Campus Connect, organized by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.
The students who converged at the Wesley College in Kumasi walked out and chanted incessantly while the Minister was delivering his address.
They reportedly did that to protest the withdrawal of teacher trainee allowances.
However Okudzeto Ablakwa who took to twitter to express his anger about the students’ action and cautioned that we must “understand that there is no honour in this heckling business neither does it achieve any result. I wish to condemn this conduct and ask no student should engage in this unacceptable misconduct even if under the guise of avenging what happened to my colleagues and I in Kumasi.”
“We must be careful not to trigger a nasty vicious cycle which will only mar the long cherished principles of academic freedom which expects our higher institutions of learning to be the epitome of tolerance and most welcoming of all persons and shades of opinion needed for the generation of knowledge. Let us also remember that knowledge without discipline will only make us a danger to ourselves and society,” Okudzeto Ablakwa added.
Below are the tweets posted by the Deputy Education Minister on his twitter handle
Just reading media reports of another heckling incident this time involving Dr. Bawumia in the Volta Region. Our students ought to (1)
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
understand that there is no honour in this heckling business neither does it achieve any result. I wish to condemn this conduct and ask (2) — Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
no student should engage in this unacceptable misconduct even if under the guise of avenging what happened to my colleagues and I (3)
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
in Kumasi. We must be careful not to trigger a nasty vicious cycle which will only mar the long cherished principles of academic freedom(4) — Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
which expects our higher institutions of learning to be the epitome of tolerance and most welcoming of all persons and shades of opinion(5)
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
needed for the generation of knowledge. Let us also remember that knowledge without discipline will only make us a danger to ourselves(6) — Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
and society.
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 18, 2015
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana