Cape Coast and Ho Polytechnic Temporarily Closed

Cape Coast Polytechnic

The Cape Coast Polytechnic has been shut down. This is in compliance with the Polytechnic Act which says that a school will be closed down after 21 days of continuous strike.

The Polytechnic Teachers’ Association of Ghana (POTAG) embarked on a nationwide strike to protest the scrapping of their unpaid book and research allowance.

It has been four weeks since the Cape Coast branch of POTAG begun their strike.

After several hours of meeting, the Executive committee of the Academic Board of Ho Polytechnic has decided to ask students to go home until further notice.

The decision was taken after the expiration of the 21 days grace period allowed for students to stay on campus when their lecturers are on strike.

The members of Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) embarked on a strike action over books and research allowance. POTAG announced an indefinite nationwide strike in protest against the unwillingness of government to pay their Book and Research Allowance for the 2013/2014 academic year.

The Education Ministry has described the strike as illegal. The strike has disrupted the end of semester examination slated for June.

"Students are permitted to leave until further notice....students are on campus and there are confused as to when lectures will resume and in order that that anxiety will be taken off the students so they will be free to plan their lives, the executive committee decided to make this decision".

According to the acting Registrar for Cape Coast Polytechnic, Emmanuel Agborvi told Citi News, the decision for the shutdown was taken after an emergency board meeting of the school on Friday.

The final year students of the school have been told to go home and return at the beginning of the next academic year to write their final exams while continuing students have been directed to proceed on attachment.

The Commission dragged POTAG to court for failing to call off their strike which they described as illegal.

Some of the students who are still on campus revealed they were indeed very worried and unhappy about the latest development and are hoping that the issues will be resolved soon so they can resume their studies.