Bechem (B/A), April 29, GNA – Academic work at the Saint Joseph’s Training College at Bechem has resumed following the unconditional re-opening of the college last Wednesday.
Students who boycotted mid-year examinations on March 23, in the midst of a controversy over the payment of electricity bills, which led to the closure of the college, are now writing the examinations.
They had demanded explanation from the college authorities about electricity bills, which had been in arrears of more than 8.7 million cedis as at January, this year.
This generated tension on campus as students were not prepared to pay extra bills since they claimed they had been paying 4,000 cedis every month towards their utility bills.
After the closure, some parents said the measure was unnecessary and called for unconditional re-opening of the college and the removal of Ms Cordelia Mary Boakye-Yiadom, the principal Ms Boakye-Yiadom, in a statement, however, explained that she could not be blamed for any wrong-doing since it is college’s board of governors that decides on matters concerning utility.
She said resident staff members were asked to pay 56,000 cedis while students agreed to pay 40,000 cedis over a period of eight months starting from October, 1999, with government grants to clear 26 million cedis arrears.
The board has decided that utility bills should now be shared as and when they are received to avoid arrears. This is because if students and staff members continue to pay a fixed rate of 2,000 cedis and 2,500 cedis each per month respectively for electricity, the college would always have arrears in electricity bills.
Ms Boakye-Yiadom said with the consent of the student representative council, a utility committee to be responsible for the sharing of bills was proposed but the students rejected the proposal.
“They demanded that sharing of utility bills should be done by the board of governors, a responsibility the board also rejected”, she said. Ms Boakye-Yiadom said when solution seemed to have been found to the problem, the students who had then began their mid-year examinations suddenly decided to boycott the examinations.
“They insisted that they would call-off the boycott only on condition that they would not be made to pay any arrears in respect of electricity bills and that no feeding grant should be deducted from their allowances for March, this year.”
She said when all avenues to address the impasse were exhausted without positive results, the college was closed down on the recommendation of the board of governors.
