Home Education UL Crisis Deepens…As Faculty Members Disengage from Academic Lectures

UL Crisis Deepens…As Faculty Members Disengage from Academic Lectures

by News Manager

By Frank P. Martin

MONROVIA: Barely days after the suspension of student politics on the Campuses of state-owned University of Liberia (UL), some unidentified individuals, believed to be students of the university, on last Friday, stormed the UL Fendell Campus (one of the campuses of the University), and subsequently caused disruption of classes.

The individuals effectively set up roadblocks in the perimeters of the university.
The individuals, whose identities remain unclear, according to eyewitnesses, also converged along the Monrovia-Kakata highway, setting up roadblocks and burning tires.

The situation, witnesses said, also led to disruption of normal business activities and huge traffic congestions in the Fendell area and its environs.
This latest action by the unidentified individuals followed a press statement signed by UL President, Prof./ Dr. Julius Julukon Sarwolo Nelson, declaring suspension of all political activities by students on all UL campuses.

Accordingly, no political group is allowed to assemble or hold meeting or engage in any politically-related activities on any of the University of Liberia campuses during the period suspension.

The UL Administration warned that if any student dare violate said mandate, he/she would be severely sanctioned in accordance with the UL revised student handbook.

“This suspension affects political/solidarity marches, political gatherings, the wearing of symbols and emblems depicting and promoting campus-based political groups, student protests, among others”, the UL March 16, 2023, statement warned.

One of the individuals, who claims to be a spokesman of the group indicated that their action was triggered by the Government of Liberia’s apparent failure to institute an independent investigation into what transpired and later led to March 13 violent incident at the UL Capitol Hill Campus, where scores of peaceful students were tear-gassed and flogged by officers of the Liberia National Police.

The protest by the individuals, according to some keen observers, was an apparent protest against pronouncement made by the University’s authority, banning student politics from all campuses of the UL and the indefinite closure of the university.

The violent move, witnesses said, lasted for nearly an hour before a team of gallant Officers of the Liberia National Police moved to the areas and later restored calm, law and order.
Amid the ugly situation which effectively injected fear and apprehension into the minds of others, the University of Liberia Faculty Association (ULFA), has formally announced that it will begin an unconditional disengagement of academic lectures on all campuses of the UL.

In a formal statement, issued in Monrovia over the weekend, the Faculty Senate pointed out that its latest decision has been warranted by what it calls “consistent failure to protect the faculty from student’s violence on all campuses of the UL.”

ULFA, in a release issued in Monrovia Friday, March 17, 2023, pointed out that it has with immediate effect, decided to disengage or stay away from all academic activities of the university until appropriate security measures can be put into place to guarantee the safety of all lecturers of UL.
ULFA made it clear that the decision was unanimously made during its Executive Committee meeting held on the UL’s main campus on Capitol Hill in Monrovia.
“All students are therefore advised to stay away from all UL campuses until further decisions can be made for lecturers to return to class,” the ULFA release pointed out.

“It was further decided that we as lecturers will only return to class when the security condition on all UL campuses is improved and measures are put into place to guarantee our safety,” the statement added.

The UL Capitol Hill main campus was a scene of bloodshed on Monday, March 13, 2023, when student violence broke out there.

During the melee, an unidentified man was stripped naked, severely beaten and stoned at the same time.

The victim is believed not to be a student of the University of Liberia rather one of those who reportedly escorted Montserrado County District 8 Representative, Acarous Moses Gray, to the UL main campus, for a controversial lunch.

The planned lunch by Rep. Gray, who is also former Secretary General of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), now Grand Coalition for Democratic Change (GCDC), was however, not held as a result of the violent outbreak.

It may be recalled that, few days ago, the University of Liberia Capitol Hill main campus went in disarray when Rep. Gray, former member of the Board of Trustees of the UL and his men arrived on the campus, while individuals believed to be members of SUP, a campus based student political party, resisted their visitation to the UL campus.

The situation led to stone throwing and the disruption of classes.
Some of Rep. Gray’s men, according to witnesses, were seen smoking what appeared to be weed and were fully armed with stones and sticks as they forced their way into the campus of the university.
However, after the bloody situation, the UL administration vehemently condemned the situation.

In addition, the University authority commissioned an investigation to probe the Monday disturbances, which led to the cancellation of classes and injuries to students and others.
The Committee is headed by Professor T. Debey Sayndee, Director, Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation of the UL.

The UL administration committed itself to ensuring the full protection and safety of all students/staff/faculty and users of the facilities and services of the University.
At the same time, UL students are reminded that the revised UL student handbook strictly prohibits the use of “disruptive noises, violence, and vandalism” on all its campuses of the UL.

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