KNUST Hall Mixture: 3 Katangees File Injunction

Three students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) affiliated to the University Hall also known as Katanga, have filed an interlocutory injunction at the High Court to prevent the school authorities from converting the all-male hall into a mixed-gender hall.

In the suit dated Monday, 13 August 2018, Mohammed Tangna Kataba, Kwame Owusu Ansah and Joshua Yayra Green, all executives of the hall, through their lawyer Stephen Asante Bekoe, are praying for an order restraining the Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Students of the KNUST and their assigns, privies, agents, workmen or otherwise any person or persons claiming through them, “from engaging in any further unlawful and/or unconstitutional acts of varying the status of the University Hall of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, by admitting female students into the hall and/or displaying male students of the Hall until the final determination of the [substantive] suit” aimed at quashing the decision of the university.

The court is set to be moved on Thursday, 23 August 2018.

Katanga, and Unity Hall (Conti), have been in a legal tussle with management of the university over attempts to convert them into mixed-gender halls of residence in order to accommodate more females in the university.

Authorities say the conversion is in line with the university’s aim of expanding access to female students.

Meanwhile, students, alumni and associates of the two halls will be presenting a petition on Friday, 17 August 2018, to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Chancellor of the university, to stop the proposed conversion of the halls.

Stakeholders will be requesting the Chancellor to order a stay of the proposal until a meaningful and sustainable solution can be found to the perennial accommodation and security crisis on campus.

Stakeholders will be converging on the Kumasi Children’s Park at 9.00am, from where they will march peacefully to the Manhyia Palace to present the petition to the Asante monarch.

The university has, however, served notice that Africa Hall, an all-female hall will be converted into a mixed hall as well to accommodate males.

This implies all the traditional halls of residence of KNUST will be mixed beginning 2018/19 academic year.

Source: ClassFMonline