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Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said that the government does not intend to stifle academic freedom with the public universities bill.
According to him, an instruction was given on the floor of Parliament to ensure that all the concerns of the various stakeholders are reflected in the bill before its passage.
His comment stems from claims made by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) that the bill, in its current state, will compromise academic freedom in institutions of higher education.
Speaking at the AM Show on JoyNews, Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua noted that the government and other stakeholders oppose the ideas and principles that the university should be given the functional need for academic freedom.
“They think there should be that control and if it is introduced, the evidence from other countries will indicate that we are going down the drain.”
He said: “I’m not sure the committee understands how serious this Bill would be if it became Law.”
But Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, in his presentation said: “After yesterday’s meeting, the decision was made to broaden the consultation not only to make it a UTAG – Legon issue but to broaden engagement.
“It’s unfortunate that every time you get involved, it’s interpreted as trying to do something on the other side.”
He stated that a copy of the draft was made available to UTAG and other interested parties for evaluation and “tell us whether or not it captures what you want it to capture and if you would like some additional amendments, let us have it.”
He added: “Until then, the considerations on the floor, it is true that where you are not part of it, they are suspended.”
Mr. Nkrumah said that until now, everyone has the opportunity to review and provide comments that will determine the next consultation.
The executive director of the Institute for Educational Studies (IFEST), Peter Anti, in the same program, noted that the government is rushing to pass the bill.
He said the Ghana Technical University Teachers Association (TUTAG) received a schedule (Tuesday, December 22) to present their views on the bill.
But Oppong Nkrumah said: “We do not have a Tuesday schedule for you to raise your concerns.”
He explained: “Tuesday is a timeline that they selected to tell us when they will bring their opinions, so Tuesday is not a selected timeline for them to bring their opinions.”
According to him, the recommendations made by the various TUTAG groups have been included in the current bill.
“What they should do is go back to those groups, consult them, tell them that this is what we present and this is how it has been approached, so they need some time to do all this work and that.”
The Information Minister wants the general public to discredit notions that the bill has been passed, saying that “such suspicion is unfounded.”
There were red flags indicating that the government is in trouble to pass the bill, but Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said there is no such plan by the government.
However, he said that if all concerns are captured before the 7th Parliament closes, the Government can go ahead to pass the bill, other than that, the 8th Parliament may have to review everything again.
“The vice president assured UTAG that we are in no rush to pass a bill that creates more problems than it solves.”
The bill that was initially suspended in October due to public outrage was resubmitted to Parliament on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
However, Parliament, after consulting with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Wednesday, suspended the process of the bill.
