University of Ghana to break for Dec polls

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21-10-08


THE University of Ghana is to break from December 6 to 8, 2008 to enable students to take part in the December 7 elections.
The authorities of the university have, therefore, changed the starting date of the first semester examinations for the 2008-2009 academic year from November 24, 2008, to November 19, 2008.
“We will break for December 6,7 and 8, 2008 for students to go and exercise their franchise. We will, however, continue with the first semester examinations from December 9, 2008,” the acting Director of Academic Affairs, Mr E.A. Amartey, told the Daily Graphic yesterday.
He said the break for the elections would not in anyway affect the academic calendar, and that the date, December 13, 2008, on which the first semester was supposed to end remained unchanged.,
He said students were expected to finish their examinations by December 13, 2008.
Mr Amartey said the authorities had already communicated the change in the commencement of the examinations to students.
Meanwhile, some students have welcomed the decision of the authorities to give them the opportunity exercise their franchise.
They said the short break would also afford them the opportunity to follow the elections closely.
“The decision is okay because writing examinations during the voting period will have disenfranchised some us,” a second-year student, Abdul Kassim said.
Another student, Stephen Asamoah, who supported the assertion of his colleague, said most students registered outside campus and that “it was good to allow them to go home and cast their ballots and come back”.
The decision of the authorities of the University of Ghana comes just about a week after the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) announced that it was going to break for students to partake in the elections.
The University Relations Officer of KNUST, Mr Solomon Panford, said after deliberating on the matter, the Academic Board had decided that the university should go on recess on Friday, December 5, 2008 and resume on Monday, December 8, 2008 to allow students who would want to travel to participate in the elections to do so.