Former president and current flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has promised to reverse the names of some public universities in the country provided he is re-elected as president in the 2024 general elections polls.
Previously, some public universities in the country were renamed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he assumed office on January 7, 2017 for his first term .
One of the schools which were affected is the University for Development Studies (UDS), Navrongo campus which is now the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS) in the Upper East Region.
The change was in honor of the former Chairman of the Council of Elders of the NPP making the campus an autonomous university.
The Wa UDS campus was also renamed after SD Dombo [Simon Diedong Dombo], a politician from the United Party tradition.
Simon Diedong Dombo, who was a Ghanaian politician, teacher and king belonged to the United Party (UP) tradition, of which the New Patriotic Party has its roots. The university is currently Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) in the Upper West Region.
The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa and Takoradi was also renamed the George Grant University of Mines and Technology.
Addressing party supporters and the local people at Zuarungu in the Upper East Region, the NDC flagbearer questioned the logic behind the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) government decision to rename universities constructed by the NDC government after their party heroes.
He rebuked the NPP government for not having built any universities in the country but focusing on renaming the existing ones.
“We are known as nation builders because of the number of schools we have built. Every public university was initiated and built by us. All the NPP knows how to do is name universities that people have built. After NDC builds a university, then they will give it the name of one of their heroes or people. We are going to rename the universities. Ghana has many heroes, and not only the heroes of the NPP tradition.”
The flagbearer further emphasized on the importance of elevating the universities core mandate beyond just renaming these institutions.
“We can name an administration block, hostel, and library after somebody. But the university must reflect its core mandate. And so we will restore the original names, and the names that they have given them will be given to significant infrastructure in the universities.”
“And we will add other people and name the infrastructure in the universities after them. But if the university is the University for Development Studies, that is its core mandate. It will be called the University for Development Studies.”
The general elections will be held in Ghana on 7th December, 2024 to elect a new head of state and members of Parliament. Incumbent President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is term-limited and thus ineligible to run again; his vice, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is currently the new flag bearer of the NPP following his victory in the NPP Primary elections which took place last year November.
–
Story by: Asack Pius | univers.ug.edu.gh
