Methodist varsity can’t be blamed for withdrawal of students — Prof. Adjepong (Front)

The Methodist University College (MUC) says it cannot be blamed for carrying out the directive of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) to withdraw 651 students from the school because of deficiencies in their admission requirements. 

“The MUC did not by itself sack the students. We were directed to sack the students because according to the NAB, students, particularly those  with Diploma in Business Studies (DBS), should not  have been admitted to university,” Very Rev. Prof. S.K. Adjepong, the principal of the university college ,told the Daily Graphic.

The court case 

The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court last Thursday declared as unconstitutional the withdrawal of 651 students of the Methodist University College (MUC) from the institution and consequently ordered the university to reinstate them.

The 651 students were withdrawn from the MUC under the directive of the Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Board (NAB), Mr Kwame Dattey, with the reason that there were deficiencies in their admission requirements.

However, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Essel Mensah, ruled that the students had a right to unimpeded education and had already begun their courses of study after paying school fees.

It consequently awarded costs of GH¢10,000 each against the MUC and the NAB.

MUC sought clarification

But walking the Daily Graphic through events leading to the court case, Very Rev. Prof. Agyepong said the university had appealed to the accreditation board that the students were already in the system, so they should be allowed to pass through so that the directive could take effect from a new academic year but it did not yield any fruit. 

He said right from the beginning of the university, it wrote to the NAB by Red AdBlocker" href="#">seeking to find out the qualification of students that would be admitted to the university and Diploma in Business Studies (DBS) was one of the qualifications. 

“When we were granted accreditation, we assumed that what we submitted was satisfactory to the NAB, so we went ahead to advertise those qualifications and got students admitted.”

“We also had students from the polytechnics with Higher National Diploma (HND). When the directive came, the NAB asked us to sack students from the polytechnics who did not have credit in Mathematics and English in addition to those with DBS.”

“Normally when decisions are taken, they give us a time of implementation so that the people are not disadvantaged but much as we tried, they did not listen. We were on the students’ side. If NAB directs, we have no choice but to comply,” he said. 

The MUC Principal said although there was advice that the university college should go to court because it had not done anything wrong as it followed the qualifications that was in the accreditation documents, the Methodist Church decided that court should be the last option. 

“Before we could  say jack, the students had taken us to court as joint respondents and they sought an injunction to the implementation of the NAB directive so they could continue their education,” he said.

He said the university had since complied with the court directive and allowed the students to continue their education, adding that some of the students had even graduated.  

MUC rejoinder  

Meanwhile, a rejoinder sent by university in reaction to the Daily Graphic publication of January 30, 2015, read in part  “The latest court order granting the plaintiffs the relief they sought must be placed squarely where it belongs.”

“Contrary to the {Daily} Graphic’s headline, the court ruling is essentially not against the MUCG, but against NAB, which gave the initial directive to withdraw the students, as sufficiently explained by the court and reported by Daily Graphic.

“By the latest court ruling, the institution that has been ‘floored’ and indicted is the NAB and not the MUCG.

“We want to assure our stakeholders, including students that the university college does not delight in dismissing students we have painstakingly admitted.

“We want to further assure stakeholders, mostly prospective students, that the MUCG is a credible institution and really one of choice, and one that its products can be proud of.

“We trust that {Daily} Graphic would place this rejoinder appropriately, and work to amend the damage it has caused our great institution.”