By Alhaji Saidu Kamara.
The Principal of the Milton Margai Technical University (MMTU), Dr. Philip John Kanu has warned students to focus on their academic work as the college is currently going through a major transition to university.
The principal gave this warning in the wake of the ban placed on students union activities, including the closure of canteens, social clubs, fraternities, cultism and other Student Union gatherings.
Addressing an emergency meeting held recently at the Great Hall of the Goderich campus, the principal said the decision to ban student union activities emanated from a letter written by some students and addressed to the Chief Minister, J.J Saffa and copied to the Minister of Technical and Higher Education and other senior government officials that is currently circulating on social media, alleging that the college administration is involved in students union politics by favouring a particular student to win the pending student union presidential election.
Responding to the allegation, the principal said, he was surprised to see these allegations which he described as `baseless and misleading’.
Dr. Philip Kanu explained how he received a complaint letter from one of the candidates for the student union presidential election scheduled for past Friday, 20th August 2021, alleging that she was invited to a meeting by a group of students and other unknown persons who stripped her naked and took her photographs which they later threatened to post on social media in an effort to frighten her to step down for the other three male candidates.
He said this is the fourth SU elections that he has conducted and nothing of such nature had ever reared its ugly head on campus.
He said, “I take my students as my own children for which I always admonish them regularly to be studious and disciplined…I will never go down low to meddle in student union politics. I do not want Government to delay the Technical University transition process as this is our greatest goal at this material moment…We are waiting to receive our certificate by October this year and therefore we do not want any disruption of this process,” Dr. Philip Kanu emphasised.
He said Milton Margai has set the pace in the past for the conduct of peaceful and credible SU elections to the admiration of all other institutions and would therefore not want to see this record tarnished.
The family of the lady candidate in question have also reported the matter to the police for which an investigation has been launched.
He went on to discuss that all students union elections conducted since he assumed office three years ago had been free from violence and transparent to the applause and admiration of not only other colleges and universities, but the entire country. He went on to inform his audience that he invited the four presidential candidates to a meeting where he assured them that his administration would not interfere in the elections and would support any candidate that would emerge the winner.
He said the administration would investigate cases of mass students’ failure, he accused some students of not attending classes regularly, but want to pass and that people would appeal to him to pass some of them when they fail, asserting that any decision he takes is for the good of the institution and the country.
The Vice Principal, Dr. M. A Jalloh spoke about the importance of the meeting for the students, staff and lecturers which takes place from time to time, underscoring that many developments have taken place in the college recently.
He said the administration has beefed up security on the three campuses of the Technical University, including the installation of CCTV cameras in classrooms and on campus.
In his contribution, the Operations Officer of the Adonkia Police Division warned the students that defaulters would be reprimanded and that with immediate effect, they would patrol the campus and appealed to them to be law -abiding and embrace change and development.
Sources close to this medium have revealed that one of the presidential candidates, Santigie Conteh alleged to have stripped off the female candidate and taking of her naked pictures may be expelled from the college after conclusion of the investigation.
