Acting CEO of NYA commends leadership and Student body of GIJ for amicable resolution and calls for calm

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA) Mr. Nelson Owusu Ansah, has upon following the rather unusual rift between some agitated students of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the Institute’s management, which saw these troubled students picketing at the entrance of the Ring Way Estate campus of the Institute expressing their displeasure, as a result of a notice from the Academic Affairs Unit of the Institute, asking these students to defer their programmes subsequent to their failure to settle their fees within stipulated time, commended the leadership of the Institute for their swift and decisive verdict to accommodate the requests of the affected students, thereby leading to tranquility on the campus.

In a statement released by the Authority and signed by the Acting CEO on Thursday March 25th 2021, Mr. Owusu Ansah urged the student body to endeavor to use all appropriate and legitimate means at all times to resolve issues and to refrain from any adverse behavior that will ultimately not inure to their own benefit and negatively affect the image of the noble Institute.

“As the key duty bearer in the area of youth development and as an Authority with a vested interest in the overall welfare of the Ghanaian youth particularly, management would like to reach out to these affected students to exercise the greatest of restraint, remain tolerant and constructively engage the Institute’s leadership to arrive at an amicable and acceptable roadmap to ensure a win-win solution as all times” the statement read.

The statement went on to say “as future custodians of the noble profession of journalism, the students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting their enviable status as gatekeepers and honour their role, rightly so, as the fourth estate of the realm, and not to behave in an unbecoming manner, bringing the respectable inky profession into disrepute and dishonor”.

The statement, went on to laud the leadership of the Old Students Union for their intervention as well, which also paved way for the rather optimistic and positive turn of events.

As the statutory body responsible for the nation’s youth, the National Youth Authority expresses its profound pleasure at the eventual turn of events, which has given birth to an amicable win-win solution to quench this infamous impasse amid a cruel pandemic that frowns on mass gatherings.

The Authority therefore wishes to use this opportunity to admonish all students in every institution to seek and use dialogue and appropriate means and channels to get their concerns across and seek redress from duty bearers and not to resort to lawless acts, massing up and agitations that could potentially end up in violence or unpalatable situations.

“Moving forward, the Authority expects management of such youth-focused institutions to strive to build effective communication lines with their key stakeholders to timely appreciate and address issues thereby preventing them from degenerating into often times preventable crisis” the statement ended.