The Accra High Court has ordered the management of the University of Ghana (UG) to refrain from revoking the residential status of continuing students of the Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah halls.
This decision of the court followed the filling of an interlocutory injunction by some disgruntled students on January 6, 2023.
The university’s administration issued an order intending to remove all continuing male students from the halls due to a violent altercation that had taken place between the two halls on August 15, 2022.
According to UG’s management, it had chosen to implement the directive as a disciplinary step after clashes between some students from the two halls, which resulted in the destruction of the statue of John Mensah Sarbah’s located at the Mensah Sarbah hall.
Per the administration’s announcement to the members of the university, starting from the 2022/2023 academic year, “Level 100 and graduate students (Masters and PhD level) will be assigned to Mensah Sarbah and Commonwealth Halls.”
The directive said “All continuing students of Commonwealth hall and continuing male students of Mensah Sarbah hall will not return to these halls, or to any of the traditional halls. They are to be randomly assigned to available rooms in any of the UGEL and private hostel”.
But in accordance with the court’s judgment from January 6, the current residential arrangement of students must be maintained as it was before UG’s directive on October 26, 2022.
“It is hereby ordered that the defendant herein is hereby restrained either by itself or its officers, assigns, privies, agents, workmen or anybody working under the defendant’s instructions from going ahead to implement the decision of the defendant, dated 26th October, 2022, in respect of the residential policy decision affecting continuing students of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana,” according to the court.
BY TIMES REPORTER
