By Fatmata Jengbe
All Students’ Union activities, including the closure of canteens, social clubs, fraternities, cultism, gatherings and other activities have been suspended on the Milton Margai Technical University (MMTU) campus by University’s administration.
The suspension was triggered by the stripping of a female presidential candidate naked. Currently, the administration has mounted an investigation maintain that the perpetrators would be brought to book.
The ban was announced in the wake of the letter written by some students to the Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa and copied to the Minister of Technical and Higher Education and other senior Government officials accusing the Principal, Dr. Philip John Kanu and administration of interfering into Students Union politics and wanting to lure them to his own club.
Dr. Philip John Kanu, on Monday 16th August 2021 stated at the Great Hall of the Goderich Campus in Freetown, that he would never be intimidated. He disclosed how he received a complaint letter from one of the candidates for the Students’ Union presidential election scheduled for the 20th August 2021 that she was invited to a meeting by a group of students and other unknown people who stripped her naked and took her photographs and threatened to post them on the Social Media in an effort to frighten her to stepdown for the other three male candidates.
The Principal stated that, “students’ business should be students’ business. Government has gained a lot of recognition internationally for protecting women and the girl-child in addition to enacting the Gender Bill. Therefore, it is a shame for students to treat a female student in such a dastardly and unacceptable manner. 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 students’ politics. I do not want Government to stop the Technical University process that is our main goal. We are only waiting to receive our certificate by October this year and therefore do not want any disruption of this process.”
According to Dr. Kanu, in the letter to the Chief Minister, the students accused the administration of interfering in their elections, threatened to protest and burn down the institution but that he warned them not to allow people to mislead them underscoring that he is disappointed that the students could not conduct a simple election for themselves and informed them that unlike in the past he would never tolerate them again in his office that was accessible to them or on campus.
Milton Margai has set the pace in the past for the conduct of peaceful and credible elections to the admiration of all.
The family of the lady candidate in question has also reported the matter to the Police.
Dr. Kanu went on to disclose that all the Students Union elections conducted since he assumed office three years ago have been peaceful, free from violence and transparent to the applause and admiration of not only other colleges and universities but the entire country intimating 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 the winner.
A Students’ Representative Council, made-up of four of the most brilliant students with the highest grade points (males and females), headed by a Coordinator, will be appointed to represent the welfare of students with a Coordinator liaising between the administration and the students for which the college administration has appointed a committee to oversee the election of the Students’ Representative Council. The Students’ Union constitution will also be reviewed to meet the new University Status.
The MMTU Principal further informed that his focus is the new Technical University status that would commence this October, that his administration would investigate cases of mass student failures, accused some students of not attending classes regularly but want to pass and that people 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 administration has beefed up security on the three campuses of the Technical University including the installation of CCTV cameras in classrooms and on campus.
Earlier in his welcome statement, the Vice Principal of MMTU, Dr. Mohamed Alie Jalloh reiterated 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 stressed that the administration is not trampling on the rights and freedoms of students underlining that rights and freedoms go with responsibilities and reminded the students about the rights of others, stressed that the college is at a crossroad and an important time in its history affirming that its gets darkest before dawn and assured that everything done at the college is for the welfare and security of students.
The Police representative warned the students that defaulters would be reprimanded, that with immediate effect they would patrol the campus, appealed to them to be law-abiding and embrace change and development.
Sources at the college intimated this medium that one of the prime suspects and one of the presidential candidates in the stripping of the female candidate and taking of her naked pictures, Santigie Conteh, may be expelled from the college after the conclusion of investigations.
