KNUST: VC Prof Dickson Reappointment Hit with Suits
The extension of the appointment of Prof Rita Akosua Dickson, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has suffered some setbacks after being hit with a series of injunctions.
The most recent one comes from an alumnus and staff member of the school named Isaac Mensah on July 29, 2024.
According to him, the renewal of the appointment of the first female VC for the institution violates the University’s statutes.
“That the purported renewal of the 3rd Respondent’s appointment by the 2nd respondent is contrary to the University’s laws and in clear breach of good reasoning.”
In reference, he said, the University was supposed to constitute a seven-member Search Committee to propose a suitable candidate for consideration after a public announcement.
The committee, he noted, must consist of the University Council Chair as head, three members of the Council, two members of the Academic Board and a member of the Alumni Association.
“That the conduct of the Respondents is unlawful and illegal and unconscionable and thus should not be made to stand as doing the contrary will be akin to granting the respondent immunity to their flagrant breach and disobedient to the 1st respondent’s statutes/laws.”
He is therefore seeking an injunction from the Kumasi High Court to stop the mandate of Prof Dickson from extending beyond July 31, 2024.
This follows a similar suit by an alumnus of the university, which will be heard today, July 30, 2024.
Background
The Office of the KNUST’s Registrar put out a communiqué last month announcing the decision by the University’s Council on Thursday, June 20, 2024, to grant Prof Dickson a second term at the post following her initial four-year term set to expire at the end of July.
“It is announced for the information of Members of Staff, Students, the entire University Community and the General Public that the Council of the University at its 22nd (Regular) Meeting held on Thursday, June 20, 2024, approved the recommendations of the Committee set up by the Council to evaluate the application for renewal of appointment of the Vice-Chancellor for a second term of two (2) years.”
The new term was to start on August 1, 2024.
Prof. Dickson is a Professor of Pharmacognosy and served as the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University before making history as the first female VC. She is also an alumna of the University based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
