By Godfred A. Polkuu
Nalerigu (NE/R), March 18, GNA – Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, the Director-General (DG) of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), has assured the Nayiri, Paramount Chief of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, that the Gambaga College of Education will not be closed.
The assurance follows a shooting incident by unknown gunmen which led to the death of a student at the College, leaving another in critical condition at the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, the North East Regional capital.
Professor Jinapor gave the assurance when he called on the Paramount Chief as part of his visit to the College at the instance of the Minister for Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu.
The visit was to engage with the Gambaga Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) to ascertain the situation on campus and put measures in place to protect the students on campus.
He said although some stakeholders called for the closure of the College, owing to the incident, he noted that “I don’t think the school should be shutdown. However, the security needs to be upgraded”.
He said the GTEC, and the Ministry of Education were concerned about the incident as it involved students, “Once it has to do with the disruption and interruption of academic work, then it becomes necessary for us to step in.
“Let me state for the record that the Minister has directed that we provide all financial assistance to the injured student in the hospital. And the family of the person who unfortunately lost his life. He directed that he gets a befitting funeral,” he said.
Professor Jinapor who later interacted with students at the College after he visited the injured student in the hospital, urged them to be mindful of their own security, while management worked to upgrade the security situation.
“You need to be security conscious, be careful who you talk to, and what you say. You need to be very careful about social media. I am here today for you to appreciate the fact that you are not in this alone,” the DG told the students.
GNA
FAA/KOA