University Students Studying Under Trees

Study under Tree

As the government is making frantic efforts to eliminate the schools under trees canker that has plagued the nation, Pentecost University College (PUC), one of the leading religious tertiary institutions in the country, is increasing enrollment without the commensurate infrastructure, and students are now learning in tents and under trees on its Sowutuom campus.

There is scarcity of infrastructure on the campus, hence the provision of some make-shift acoustic tents similar to the “The Dome “conference room where social events are organized at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The lack of lecture facilities on campus are so prevalent that students have to fight over the few tents that have been provided by the school authorities.

The students, according to this paper’s information, are fuming with rage about the school’s incessant admission of new students when infrastructures have not been increased to accommodate the rising number.

Again, The Herald is reliably told that the school, in spite of its myriad infrastructural problems, has been offering admission to foreign students from neighbouring countries namely, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra-Leone.

The existing infrastructure at the main campus has been the same since the inception of the school since 2005, in spite of the fact that the school is now offering Master’s Degree programmes.

When The Herald visited the Sowutuom campus, it came face –to-face with the reality of the accommodation challenges, hence the construction of a seven-storey lecture hall, which school authorities believe will eliminate the current lack of lecture facilities on campus.

The Herald further learnt that the school authorities initially directed the contractor working on the project to hasten the pace of work in blatant disregard of safety measures until the occurrence of the Melcom Disaster at Achimota, a suburb in Accra where a four-storey building collapsed over ninety workers.

According to some students, this man-made disaster compelled the school authorities to change their earlier directives to the contractor, urging him to work to speed up work, but ensure safety.

In the school authorities’ attempt to correct the scarcity of lecture halls on campus, two acoustic tents were procured but had to be later abandoned because of the erratic power supply and the huge electricity bill that had to be paid at the end of the month.

The Herald has been informed that when the tents were operational students were scrambling for it resulting in the clash of lectures.

The lack of lecture facilities have compelled the school’s management to locate the new Graduate School of the university to the plush Kama Hospitality building at Labone, a suburb of Accra, which belongs to Mr. Michael Agyekum Addo, the renowned industrialist, and a prominent member of the church.

The Herald has also learnt that the lecture hall meant for the Master’s programmes have been taken over by the undergraduate students at the main campus too.