The authorities of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) are reportedly working to address the latest move by some lecturers of the school to campaign for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the 2016 elections.
[contextly_sidebar id=”ScJiONVqe6uxIF8A4j8Phtwh6Vc6WqL8″]This is according to the General Secretary of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Samuel Atintonu.
On Eyewitness News, Mr. Atintonu said: “The information I have from my colleagues from KNUST is that the university authorities are taking steps to address that on their campus so yes, it’s completely not the right thing to do.”
Some lecturers at KNUST on Monday announced their formation of a group called the KNUST NPP Frontliners which will work to galvanize support for the NPP to help the party win next year’s presidential election.
According to them, the NPP possess the intellectual capabilities and policies to develop Ghana at a faster rate hence their decision.
However, UTAG has condemned their action and has further dissociated itself from the group.
“UTAG does not associate itself with any particular political party and what exactly happened at KNUST is a group of lecturers who expressed their views and that has nothing to do with UTAG,” he stressed.
Mr. Atintonu clarified that the association is not against any member engaging in party politics but it is imperative for UTAG members to remain neutral.
He acknowledged that UTAG members are individuals who have human rights and are at liberty to express their support for anybody “but to do so on a campus and tag it like intellectuals, assuming or presuming that all members of the intellectual community and in this case, UTAG members is not quite appropriate to do so.”
He continued saying, “it is not appropriate to associate ourselves with any political party mainly because we teach all kinds of people in the university…and it’s not something that UTAG supports it.”
The UTAG General Secretary stated that the association is a highly respectable community and it is wrong to drag it into party politics which has the tendency of undermining their credibility.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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